A Beacon of Light

“The more words you use, the less you actually say.” Jefferson Fisher It’s Sunday morning! I hope you have some exciting plans for your day. If, by chance, your Sunday schedule includes attending a church service, I hope you have the opportunity to experience a thoughtful, provocative, and inspiring homily. I never take a good homily for granted. One…

“Self-acceptance is without condition; it means that you accept yourself as is, flaws and all.” Heather Lonczak In the mid-1980’s, U.S. Catholic Magazine published an article titled “Cafeteria Catholicism: Do We Have to Eat Everything on Our Plate?” I was coordinating a young adult ministry program at a Catholic parish in Silicon Valley at the time. The title of this…

“Kintsugi  has transcended  mere repair  to touch upon  values  and ways of  holding your heart.” Sho Takeshita The Japanese art of kintsugi, sometimes called kintsukuroi, is the practice of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold. As is illustrated in the photo above, kintsugi can turn a broken object into a masterpiece of art. The…

“Parting is suchsweet sorrow.” William Shakespeare As we grow older, one of the more difficult facts of life we learn to accept is that not every relationship is meant to last forever. It seems to be fairly common that people write others out of their lives for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are…

“Getting together  as a family is a  great way to  reinforce bonds  that have existed  for generations.” Today was “family day” at the pool. Kathy and I thoroughly enjoyed having all three of our boys, along with all five grandkids with us for an afternoon of swimming and snacks. Steve’s wife, Morgan, was able to…

“America celebratedtogether at 200. We won’t at 250.”John Mark Hansen The day is upon us — the semiquincentennial (meaning half of a 500-year anniversary) of the United States of America. At this point in our nation’s history, I question whether we should continue to use the word “united” to describe our country. Clearly, we’re not. I…

“America means opportunity, freedom, power.”Ralph Waldo Emerson The United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary tomorrow. Throughout much of our nation’s history, Emerson’s quote (above) has been a valid observation. Sadly, this no longer seems to be completely accurate. The challenges of the current state of our union are concerning to many. For me,…