A flock of beautiful birds always alight on our deck to feed on the expensive seeds we put there every day. They come mostly at specific hours and wait on the branches of trees nearby until they see their food already there. The birds have been coming all summer, fall, spring, and even in the cold of winter. This morning was a rainy day. The rain wet our deck where we had spread bird seeds the night before. But the birds were there, picking up with their beaks seeds partly su

One of the most poignant scenes in the Gospels (John 6) is when our Lord Jesus asked His twelve disciples a question after the rest of the people following Him had turned away because they found His teaching about their eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood to gain eternal life a "hard saying." The question "Will you also go away?" Is like asking "Do you also not believe Me? The reply of Peter, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!" Is as poignant becau

At this time when the world is messed up, when the forces of evil have been aggressively trying to squelch the good and succeeding, when there is more bad news than good in many spheres of life -- religious, economic, political, etc., we who believe in a Loving God naturally turn to Him for consolation and strength. There is meaning to our lives. And God is part and parcel of it. In fact, He is the meaning of our lives. In the quiet of our homes where many are forced quaranti

Tonight at the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, after babysitting our two-year-old granddaughter, we saw in church a couple cuddling their two young boys at the end of our pew. It is not hard to love -- for parents and grandparents. For parents: their children. For grandparents: their grandchildren. Love comes as second nature to them. They know they have it. They feel it. For God has put it in their hearts. Even from the womb, mothers and fathers already love their babies. And wh

It's been a long day, Lord. I'm going to bed now. To rest my tired body and weary spirit. But first I need to talk to You and be my last thought as I close my eyes in sleep and forget all the cares and events that transpired this day. And, most importantly, to commend myself to Your loving Hands. Tomorrow, if it be Your will, I shall wake up refreshed to begin another day, or to find myself beginning it in eternity, if You will it is time. I thank you with all my heart for g

God speaks to us in many ways: in His creation, in Holy Scriptures, at prayer, etc. He also speaks through music and songs. The songs He sings are love songs. Listening to God sing His songs is a way of drawing us closer to Him, softening our hearts to meditate on His enduring love and compassion. It comforts our souls, uplifts our spirits, especially when we need it the most. Especially when we need Him most. Especially in times of trouble. The past year has been one of the

God also sings love songs. (And we can also sing love songs back to Him.) After all, He is the Creator of music and musical hearts. He is the Creator of all things beautiful. He is Beauty itself. Listening to God sing His songs is a way of soothing the soul, of comforting our spirits, especially when we need it the most. Especially when we need Him most. The past year has been one of the most challenging times that we who are living have been experiencing. Our lives have dra

For the Soul After so much expectation, the world has finally welcomed the development of vaccines to provide immunity protection against the Covid-19 virus. The manufacture and distribution of the vaccines have been ongoing. The full effects of the different vaccines developed by various laboratories in different countries are still to be seen and studied. Some issues are the safety of the different brands and the morality of the use of aborted fetus cell lines and tissues

First, it was Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, who proclaimed: "God is dead." Then the Founding Fathers acknowledged “the duty of all men in society, publicly, and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe.” Subsequently, Congress added "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The country's motto is printed in its currency: "In God We Trust." Recently, a congressman with some little power nonchalantly (haughti

One precious book I have owned for decades is "A Doctor at Calvary" by Pierre Barbet, MD subtitled "The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon." "The Gospels reveal only the barest essentials about the physical sufferings of our Lord. But in this mind-opening book, Dr. Barbet relies heavily on his close analysis of the Holy Shroud of Turin to recreate every stage of the Passion with heart-rending precision and detail. The result: a minor classic of spiri