Season of Creation
You may already know that from September 1 through October 4 Christians are engaging in prayer and action for creation in a “Season of Creation.” October 4 happens to be the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology. Pope Francis said, “In this Season of Creation, as followers of […]
Notre Dame Mission Appeal
This weekend I will drive to West Virginia to speak at a parish about our Notre Dame missions. In preparing my talk, I learned more about our Sisters amazing work in foreign countries. Here is the bulk of my presentation . . . We Notre Dames began missionary efforts in 1949 in Jamalpur, India. We […]
Ten Ways to Love from the Bible
Recently I came across a helpful post on Facebook. Someone found ten specific ways to love in Scripture. As I pass them on to you, I offer a comment or two about each one…. 2. Trust without wavering (1 Corinthians 13:7). Love means your reliance on someone is constant, not fickle. You believe that you […]
Love, Seen by All as the Chief Virtue: Christian Love
I’m writing this post on the feast of St. Augustine. Arguably his most famous words are the prayer “My heart is restless until it rests in you.” But he also said, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.” […]
Creative Ways to Pray the Rosary
In preparing to give a workshop on the Rosary in October, I’ve been thinking about this time-honored devotion. We Notre Dames pray the Rosary every day. Some people find it boring because it is so repetitious. Our Blessed Mother obviously doesn’t find it boring. To her it’s like hearing “I love you” over and over. […]
St. Dominic Gives New Prayer Ideas
St. Dominic de Guzman, who lived in Spain from about 1170 to 1221, was a great preacher and can still teach valuable lessons to us moderns. He was a man devoted to prayer who would contemplate and fall into ecstasy. Someone compiled his prayer methods into a booklet. They have become known as the Nine […]
Laughter Is Medicine for the Soul
God gave us humans the gift of laughter. We are the sole creatures to enjoy this gift. We laugh when we are happy or when a strange thing amuses us. Laughter has many benefits. For one thing, it massages the liver! It is a sign of joy. I imagine that heaven’s halls ring with laughter. […]
Twenty Nuggets from My Retreat
Each year we Sisters make a week long retreat. Last week I had the pleasure of making one under the direction of Fr. Bernie Owens, S.J. It was a preached retreat, so every day we heard two conferences and were given handouts to mull over. I thought I might share with you some of the […]
Jonah: A Type of Jesus
In a Gospel this past week Jesus referred to Jonah. Quite some time ago I gave talks for catechists based on Jonah. I’m resurrecting it here, not only for religion teachers but for anyone who might enjoy another look at this delightful short story. . . . For too long the prophet Jonah has been […]
Dying Words of St. Anthony
Last week I came across the dying words of two famous people. This reminded me of my book I Am Going . . . Reflections on the Last Words of the Saints published by ACTA. It contains the dying words of 87 saints. As a sample, I copied here an excerpt about one of the […]
