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Is there room for fun in the spiritual life?
I’m spending a week away on vacation with my family – three adult children, their spouses and partners, and two grandchildren. I can’t help but focus my attention on these two boys, ages…
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The best mantra for discerning the will of God
There is something I find especially difficult about discernment: waiting. I am much more comfortable when I have an idea, make a decision, and get moving. My usual pattern has been: Get an…
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Hearing God in a New Season
Last week, my wife and I traveled to Maine. Visiting Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and Portland had been on our bucket list for a long time. So had eating a lobster roll…
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Learning to hear the whispering sound in the noise
Homily for the 19th Sunday After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak. 1 Kings 19:13 Where do you hear the…
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A New Way to Pray When the Words Don’t Come
A New Way to Pray When Words Don’t Come Most of last week, my prayer felt like moving through fog. I showed up at the usual times, but felt nothing. I wasn’t upset…
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The story for a new season
One of my spiritual directees, a retired executive, described his plans for the next phase of life. As he spoke, a question rose in me almost unbidden: Whose story is this? The plans were…
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How to look beyond the weeds
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field…” (Mt 13:24-43) “What is the one thing in your life that…
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Bands of love that stretch but don’t break
Last week at the homeless shelter, I met two mothers. One was homeless. One was not. One had a homeless son. One did not. Yet both shared the same unbreakable bands of love.…
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When God made me, he grinned
Sometimes God places extraordinary people in our path. If we’re paying attention, they become our greatest spiritual teachers. Every Fourth of July, my wife and I vacation at Hilton Head. Each year, I…
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The slow arrival of the soul on vacation
My body arrives on vacation long before my soul does. This week, my wife and I are vacationing at Hilton Head Island. Like most vacations, our first day was filled with unpacking, grocery…
