Antes que existiesen los smartphones, pero cuando ya se veía el uso del teléfono móvil, estaba yo sentado tomando desayuno en un hotelito en el centro de Dublín, Irlanda. Mientras probaba mi desayuno típico irlandés de jamón y huevo, observe a una joven sentada sola en una mesa justo al centro del restaurante. Parecía que aún tenía sus pijamas puestas, portaba unos pantalones largos de franela y una playera bastante desgastada con una figura descolorida. También tenía un plato de... Read more
Back in the day before smart phones existed, but cell phones had already started to appear, I sat at the breakfast area of a small bed and breakfast in downtown Dublin, Ireland. As I ate my typical Irish breakfast of ham, eggs and pudding, I saw a young lady sitting alone at a table right in the middle of the breakfast area. She appeared to be still wearing her pajamas, long and colorful flannel pants, and a worn down t-shirt... Read more
“Lamenta recuerdos perdidos que nunca se realizaron. Lamenta aquello que nunca fue. Lamenta recuerdos que no posees. Lamenta el momento presente que no fue destinado a existir”. Escribí estas palabras en el 2010 mientras estaba sentado en la banca trasera de la Parroquia Saint Joseph en Washington, Georgia. La última vez que había entrado a esta pequeña parroquia rural fue unos pocos días antes de que mi hermano fuera diagnosticado con cáncer a mediados de diciembre de 1995. Esa Navidad... Read more
“Weep for lost memories that never were. Weep for that which never was. Mourn the memories you do not possess. Mourn the present moment that was not willed to be.” I wrote these words in 2010 while sitting on the back pew of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Washington, Georgia. The last time I had entered that small, rural parish was mid-December, 1995, a few days before my brother was diagnosed with cancer. I was scheduled to play the piano... Read more
The closing Mass presided by Pope Francis in Peru gathered over one million faithful at the air force base “Las Palmas.” Estimates range from 1.2 to 1.7 million. In a city of 10 million, that means about 10% of the city attended the Mass and a few other million followed it on television. The Pope’s brief final words in Peru echoed his sentiments expressed in The Joy of the Gospel regarding the need to reach out to those living in... Read more
Looking tired, but with a tremendous smile, Pope Francis briskly descended from the papal plane onto Peruvian land. After being greeted by President Kuczynski, first lady Nancy Lange and two bishops, he walked down a red carpet for a brief arrival ceremony. He arrives on the 483rd anniversary of the founding of Lima. The Peruvian press is describing the Pope’s welcome by Peruvian society as apotheotic. Tens of thousands lined up miles of avenues throughout the city as the Pope... Read more
This evening Pope Francis will visit another Latin American country for the first time. Though he has not returned yet to his native Argentina, he has visited Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and most recently Chile. Pope Francis comes to Peru at a turbulent time. Just a few weeks ago Congress voted to impeach Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. The impeachment process unveiled deep divisions among the powerful opposition which controls Congress. At the end of the process, Kuczynski remained... Read more
Todo corazón humano busca el sentido de su vida. Toda alma anhela la felicidad. Todos nacemos inquietos. Nacemos con un vacío dentro, con un anhelo en el alma, que nos lleva a buscar la plenitud. Somos como un hermoso y complicado rompecabezas al cual le falta una pieza. Sin esa pieza estamos incompletos, por eso buscamos incansablemente la pieza que complete el rompecabezas de nuestra vida. Click here for English A menudo intentamos completar el rompecabezas con otras piezas atractivas,... Read more
Every heart searches for meaning. Every soul longs for happiness. We are born restless. We are born with a void inside, a missing piece, which moves us to seek fulfillment. We are like a beautiful and complex jigsaw puzzle with one missing piece. Without that last piece we remain incomplete, so we tirelessly search for the piece that will complete the picture. We often attempt to place other appealing pieces which satisfy temporarily but do not complete the puzzle correctly. ... Read more
During those few days that it got cold a few week ago, I sat for some time facing the Atlantic Ocean at Tybee Island during a frigid, windy morning. My ears were filled with the crackling of dry plants on the dunes behind me, the crashing of those beautiful white-topped waves and the gentle howling of the wind. It was very cold. The rising sun shined over the water creating a beautiful path joining the shore to the horizon. Nothing... Read more
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