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...
“The Night Is Far Gone; The Day Is At Hand”
The season of Advent is like the days before a major snow storm in New England, which goes something like this. . . “A storm is coming! A...
Moses Went on a Retreats: Why Not You?
While reading the Bible, it always amazes me how I can notice something I never noticed before in a passage I've read countless times...
An Easter Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow: Easter, 2020
It is still cold here at Forest Haven. Though all the snow has melted, a few flakes fell yesterday. Like everyone else, we are observing...
It's Spring, Sort Of
Spring typically conjures up images of robins, flowers and bright yellow forsythia blooms. That's the way spring is supposed to be, at...
Reflections on Christmas Lights & Christmas Music
Tops on the list of what I love most about Christmas are the season's lights and music. Although I am not one to outline our house in...
