Learning lessons from history, there two mistakes to avoid. The first is ignorance of the past; the second, supposing that it was inevitable.

Parables are meant to change our perspective, and that is no small thing. 

My grandfather never knew if the aid packages he sent back to Russia reached his brothers.  He died in Kansas, never seeing any of them again.

The parables of Jesus are meant to pounce, at least if we’ve truly heard them.  They’re a bit like playing with a kitten, one that surprises us with an unexpected swipe.  Each parable imparts a deeply personal lessen, but only if we enter the play.

When the present doesn’t demand our full attention, don’t we typically use the time to fret and to frame the future?

According to an August 15 2013 ldquo Field Notes rdquo feature in The New York Times ldquo Before Saying lsquo I Do rsquo Define Just What You Mean rdquo many brides and grooms are resurrecting a 1960s and 70s tradition nbsp They are again nbsp ldquo choosing to say vows they have writ

In the wee hours of a Sunday morning May of 1654 Jacob Rolandus climbed out a bedroom window of his family rsquo s home nbsp He was fleeing the rectory and the family of his father a Reformed Dutch Minister so that he could freely practice his new religion Catholicism nbsp In the 17th cen

Sometimes a mystery of faith is best approached through its opposite In pondering the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary consider what it means for us to die Of course for all of us on this side of the grave death is the unexplored country Near death experiences do not count Pondering dea

St Anthony of the Desert the fourth century Egyptian founder of monasticism had a conversion experience unlikely to occur today at least not easily What happened He found himself surprised at Mass After the death of his parents Anthony was questioning the course of his life wondering what t

nbsp One burden of adulthood is the speed at which times flies nbsp A blessing of childhood is time rsquo s lethargy nbsp When school dismisses for the year adults take some comfort in knowing that the summer holidays will pass quickly nbsp Children in contrast enter the reign of summer