Never underestimate the power of affirmation.Every single one of us needs to hear these words, "I value you. You are worthy."I needed it this week. Hoosiers is a feel-good movie. Worth watching again and again. A David versus Goliath story…
I spent this past week tasting wine in Languedoc-Roussillon, in southern France. It’s not a bad way to spend a week. And, I did a lot of walking, giving me a good deal of time for cogitation and pondering. I…
“Do you want a part in the Christmas nativity play?” James’ grade school teacher asked him.“Of course,” he answered. "You get to be Joseph," the teacher told him.James was proud, what with his friends having to be sheep and cows and such. "What are my lines?"…
Loving costs a lot, but not loving always costs more. "Does it hurt?" the Rabbit asked the Skin Horse (about "becoming real"). "Oh yes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "Sometimes it hurts a lot. But when you are…
There was a farmer who had a lot of fields, and he kept all the birds and creatures away from his crops with traps and fences. He was very successful. But he was also very lonely. So, one day, he stood…
We walked along the shore of Lake Michigan, on the campus of Northwestern University, our backdrop the straight-edge line of a powder-blue horizon toward the east, and the Chicago skyline to the south. My friend and I had nowhere to go, and weren't in…
I spent last Wednesday with an animated group of teachers—St. Augustine’s in Vancouver, BC. Their retreat, before a new school year. Our topic, an invitation to create sanctuary, allowing us to honor habits that sustain our wellbeing. We began the…
The shot is true, a low laser, past an outstretched goalie, into the corner of the net. After he scores, Mr. Parker performs a joy-unrestrained airborne jig, and bumps torsos with another teammate as the fans dance and cheer, GOOOOOOAL! What makes this story so special? Mr. Parker has only one leg. The other was amputated during…
"All we're asked to do is to be in the world who God is,” Fr. Gregory Boyle reminds us. “Certainly, compassion was the wallpaper of Jesus' soul, the contour of his heart, it was who he was. I heard someone say…
Tommy was his parent's pride and joy. A very bright, creative and contented little boy, he began kindergarten with his parent's certainty that he would flourish. At the end of the first week, Tommy brought home pictures he had colored. His mother and father…
