Know thyself: gnōthi seauton: These two words were inscribed in the vestibule of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. They were the reason Socrates disputed the Oracle’s declaration that he was the wisest person on earth. When told what the Oracle had said, Socrates demurred, insisting that since he did not know himself, he could not […]
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By whose authority? Monday’s Gospel reading, and this phrase, “By whose authority?” remains in my mind days later. There’s a world hidden in that phrase. Jesus was approached in the Temple while he was teaching by the Elders and chief priests. When Jesus had come into the temple area,the chief priests and the elders of
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Wonder: It’s essential place in our hearts There was a time when I had this memorized, the words represented truth to my 20-something atheist’s heart, immersed and lost in the sea of the thoughts of others. Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving
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Gratitude: What is it? The word gratitude doesn’t resemble what it signifies. Both the noun gratitude and its adverb grateful seem passive, inert, and easily overlooked. In a world where so many billions live in conditions that would be considered unacceptable in the US, our excesses seem almost immoral. But many Americans seem incapable of
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Photo Courtesy Mont Saint Michel Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael The stunning image is of Mont Saint Michel Abbey in Normandy, France, takes me back to a journey there before my conversion. That trip comes to mind because after my friend and I climbed the 350 steps to enter into the Abbey, we’d no idea
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King David, You, Me and Idleness It isn’t as if King David opened his eyes that morning to ask, “What are the 3 most effective ways I can take this blessed God-Given-Life and invoke the worst conceivable miseries upon me and my beloved nation?” Or “How can I best take the sacred anointing I was
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Politics of the common good That phrase, “politics of the common good,” reads as naivete. In a recent post, I wrote that politics is the pathetic name we give to the art of governing. Our immersion in our “shock and awe news” entices us to judge, criticize, and offend Jesus by neglecting his command to
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Thinking of another early July: Gettysburg Michael Shaara’s magnificent historical novel, Killer Angels, is required reading at West Point Academy and should be required in all American colleges. Why? There are countless reasons I write this but primarily two. When we reflect on the extraordinary history of America, “We should kneel down in gratitude!” Secondly,
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A Lost Lamb and The Good Shepherd I wrote the following piece almost ten years ago. When it suddenly popped up mid-last week, I read it, and the memories of that hike flooded back. I decided its content contains essential lessons for this past Sunday’s Feast of the Good Shepherd: The lone lamb suddenly appeared
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It’s not about sin “The prodigal son gospel reading is the perfect ‘laetare‘ for the fourth Sunday in Lent…laetare means joyous…we are happy because we’re now halfway through Lent,” the new Pastor, Fr. Jose Alberto Vasquez at St. Patrick’s Church in Arroyo Grande, California, claimed. Then he exclaimed that reconciliation is not about sin but
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