https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YOQbE692s8&t=266s Fr. Brendan McManus SJ, Gardiner Street Parish Dublin, recorded Oct. 25, 2020 As I reach the halfway point in chemotherapy this week, I'm making a special effort to take things one day at a time. So let me tell you about a terrible, horrible, maybe kinda good, not-so-bad-after-all day I had last week. As … Continue reading 12-step wisdom and a terrible, horrible, kinda good, maybe not-so-bad day halfway through chemotherapy
Sundays@6: Barbara Brown Taylor visits a Hindu temple in Atlanta with her college religious studies students
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EICcU9oN-s Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Swedish bishop Krister Stendahl’s … Continue reading Sundays@6: Barbara Brown Taylor visits a Hindu temple in Atlanta with her college religious studies students
Praying only for the knowledge of God’s will and the strength to carry it out amid the ‘paradoxical tragedy-wonder of life’
Roman arch over the Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, November 2012 Overheard the other day in the infusion center at Southern Illinois University while I was headed toward the bathroom for the umpteenth time: NURSE 1: “He took his Lasix before he came in.” NURSE 2: “So he’s going to go wee, wee, wee all the way home?” I had a snappy comeback, but … Continue reading Praying only for the knowledge of God’s will and the strength to carry it out amid the ‘paradoxical tragedy-wonder of life’
Sundays@6: ‘Holy Envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog for a parish book study group
Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to prospective members of an online book discussion group we facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) As we begin "Holy Envy" by Barbara Brown Taylor, it explores where her … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Holy Envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog for a parish book study group
Links to chicken soup recipes; with reminiscences of a soup-and-sandwich restaurant that’s long been part of the Springfield culinary (and political) scene
Elected official from Chicago (center left) drops by the Feed Store in 2016 (Facebook). My latest quest for new chicken soup recipes started, like so many other good things in my life, with a Facebook thread. This one ranged over ethnic recipes, starting with an original post about making chicken noodle soup, with kluski noodles … Continue reading Links to chicken soup recipes; with reminiscences of a soup-and-sandwich restaurant that’s long been part of the Springfield culinary (and political) scene
A Jesuit, a Protestant reformer and a spiritual mutt walk into an ER (instead of a bar): How I’m learning to trust God
Pilgrims entering Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, November 2012. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -- Proverbs 3:5-6 (NRSV): Our prayer doesn’t change God’s mind, it changes us. It helps us change our own minds and hearts. It … Continue reading A Jesuit, a Protestant reformer and a spiritual mutt walk into an ER (instead of a bar): How I’m learning to trust God
Our annual Christmas letter for 2022
Copied from Debi's blog "Seriously Seeking Answers," which has one more picture -- of a bumblebee chowing down on one of the native wildflowers she sets out to attract pollinators. (I couldn't get the formatting to behave.) To see the bee, click HERE. While you're there, take a look around. Her blog promises a "spiritual … Continue reading Our annual Christmas letter for 2022
Well, apparently I’m still on FB but this latest false alarm has me hitting the reset button on how I use social media
Screen grab of official-looking false alarm I received, Dec. 9, 2022 This is embarrassing: After getting repeated warnings, like the one shown above, that if I didn't turn on "Facebook Protect" I would be locked out of my Facebook account Tuesday, Dec. 20, I made copies of the files I wanted to save, said my … Continue reading Well, apparently I’m still on FB but this latest false alarm has me hitting the reset button on how I use social media
Would Trump accept a plea deal? Not likely. But how about a nice dacha on the Moscow River? There’s precedent
Can former President and would-be tsar Donald Trump get around his mounting legal problems with a plea of no contest and a promise to retire to private life? I'd rather see him retire to a nice dacha on the Moscow River -- he's certainly earned that accolade -- and I don't think either outcome is … Continue reading Would Trump accept a plea deal? Not likely. But how about a nice dacha on the Moscow River? There’s precedent
‘A Mild Touch of the Cancer’: In which I learn to use the ‘C-word’ from an ‘ex-comedian’ and blogger in New Zealand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Wv_wwFH1I David Downs, TEDxAuckland, Auckland, New Zealand, April 11, 2019 Like so many people of my generation, I didn't even want to hear about cancer. Too upsetting. If I saw the word in a headline, I'd scroll down to the next story in the directory. But after I got my diagnosis, I went online to … Continue reading ‘A Mild Touch of the Cancer’: In which I learn to use the ‘C-word’ from an ‘ex-comedian’ and blogger in New Zealand
Ordinary Time 