Mother’s Day 2025: Honoring the Spirit of Motherhood

Last updated on: May 9, 2025 at 11:10 am By Rob Giannamore

Opening Reflection Mother’s Day in the United States has origins in the 19th century, with Ann Reeves Jarvis organizing clubs to improve children’s health and Julia Ward Howe calling for a “Mother’s Day for Peace” in 1870. The official holiday was established by Anna Jarvis, who campaigned after her mother’s death in 1905. The first official celebration occurred in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia. By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Originally intended... Read more

How Prayer Matures: A Journey from Ritual to Relationship

Last updated on: May 5, 2025 at 11:07 am By Rob Giannamore

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Prayer: Conversations in Faith I am sitting at my desk this afternoon, beginning my second post and considering what to write. This will be published several days after these first words are struck, but as I sit and consider what to write, I realized that today was the day of International Prayer. From those early Hail Mary’s and praying the hours on a strict schedule to now praying as the moment arises, prayer has been a constant in my life... Read more

Freedom and Faith: Taming Internal Chaos With Mindfulness

Last updated on: May 2, 2025 at 11:27 am By Rob Giannamore

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Condemned to Freedom Humans are bound to two certainties: freedom and death. Jean-Paul Sartre asserts that human existence is freedom. The external world is composed of in-itself being, while consciousness is unique to humans. Consciousness is defined as awareness of being, so human consciousness entails awareness of being human. This means having infinite choices, which Sartre calls freedom. Freedom does not imply an essence of freedom; man’s existence is intrinsically free. Sartre argues that human freedom precedes essence, allowing limitless... Read more

Go and Tell, Post Resurrection Reflections

Last updated on: April 27, 2025 at 5:19 pm By Rob Giannamore

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The significance of Jesus’ death for first-century Jews and the Roman Empire cannot be overstated. It was a catalyst for profound religious, social, and political transformations. For the Jewish community, it represented a theological shift and the genesis of a new religious movement. For the Roman Empire, it marked the beginning of a religious revolution that would ultimately reshape the entire Western world. Jesus’ crucifixion, an event rooted in the historical context of Jewish-Roman relations, thus stands as a monumental... Read more

Pope Francis’ Christ Centered Life

Last updated on: April 22, 2025 at 12:41 pm By Rob Giannamore

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Pope Francis passed away this week. While I am no longer Catholic, my early formational life was shaped by the Catholic Worker Movement and the type of ministry that Pope Francis brought to his church. He emphasized that a Christ centered life involves putting Jesus at the center of daily choices and actions, allowing His love to guide one’s life. He taught that true Christian living is about bearing witness to Christ through love and service to others. I celebrate... Read more

John Wesley’s Spiritual Insights

Last updated on: April 19, 2025 at 2:15 pm By Rob Giannamore

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Introduction For my second post, I want to explore Wesely’s notions of inner and outer piety. As I dip my toes back into formal ministry, I am finding that while the younger people I talk to are very excited about the vast notions of how to be spiritual and religious, many established religious folks balk or even get intimidated when I use the many words and traditions associated with the contemplative traditions. Simply put, I am a bit rusty on... Read more

Considering the Death of God

Last updated on: April 17, 2025 at 11:57 am By Rob Giannamore

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Echoes of Nietzche We would first come aware of the notion of the death of God from Fredrick Nietzche in 1882 in his Gay Science where the term appears three times. Here, Nietzche’s proclamation signifies the decline of traditional religious beliefs, and the moral framework built upon them, particularly in the context of the Enlightenment’s impact on society. He viewed this as both a crisis and an opportunity, warning that without a divine authority, humanity risks falling into nihilism and... Read more

Confronting the “Weakness” of God

Last updated on: April 11, 2025 at 6:44 am By Rob Giannamore

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Empathy Under Attack Recently, I have been observing a peculiar thought process among some Christians, in media and among people I talk to, there is a new view that looks down on empathy. This troubling trend seems to equate empathy with weakness, suggesting that by expressing empathy, one somehow diminishes their strength or capability. However, empathy is a fundamental aspect of humanity, and its significance cannot be understated, especially in the context of Christian values. To dismiss empathy is... Read more

The Significance of Names – Addressing the Divine

Last updated on: April 10, 2025 at 11:12 am By Rob Giannamore

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Names are important in all societies. They can tell us about a person’s job and some names like Miller and Cooper speak to a family’s historical occupation. Other names represent a family history, all our girls are named after a past member of our family and a Christian attribute. This week, I want to look at the importance of of names and specifically look at the names of God found in the Abrahamic traditions as we consider the name that... Read more

The Essence of Lagom: A Spiritual and Philosophical Journey

Last updated on: April 5, 2025 at 12:45 pm By Rob Giannamore

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Embracing Balance and Moderation Being a therapist and at one point, a pastor, I get to hear a lot of stories of suffering and despair. The reality it is all around us. When we tie in the impact of social media and armchair professionals, the exposure can be overwhelming. The Swedish concept of lagom, pronounced “lah-gom,” offers a refreshing alternative. Meaning “just the right amount” or “not too much, not too little,” lagom is about finding balance in every aspect of... Read more