"In the Bleak Midwinter" Here in New Hampshire
New Hampshire has been bitter cold since Thanksgiving, and tomorrow, a week before Christmas, we're expecting a break from the polar vortex, with temperatures rising into the 50's! Unfortunately, this will only last a day or so before it gets chilly again (although not as cold as it was before). The upside of all this is that there's a foot 0f melting snow on the ground and a few more inches are expected before Christmas, so one way or the other, we're looking at a Whie Chri
Gratitude and Paying Attention
Much of the spiritual life consists, fundamentally, in paying attention, and one of the great blessings of old age is that I’ve discovered I’ve done a lousy job of doing it. I’ve come to see that a great deal of my life consisted of my mind wandering off from when it should be focused on something. Sometimes this doesn’t matter, like when you’re raking leaves or doing the dishes. Other times it does, as when you’re in a classroom and the teacher is droning on about a subjec
A Life Worth Living, According to Jesus: Reflections on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)
To be blessed is to be given a gift, and in the Beatitudes, Jesus directs our attention to some rather odd blessings, all of which, he...
A Step Too Far
In Matthew's account of Judas' betrayal of Jesus in Gethsemane, Jesus says, as he was being seized, ". . . all this has taken place, that...
Meditation on a Crucifix I Saw Today
I saw a crucifix this morning, and made a point of really looking at it. As I did so, a question occurred to me, followed immediately by...
Lent as Spring Training
Lent is to the Christian life what Spring Training is to baseball. Spring training is a time for getting in shape, practicing basic...
