“Even as tiny drops fill the water jug, so the patient ones become filled with good, even though virtue may come slowly.” —Buddha, The Dhammapada Life can change in an instant, but change also sneaks in by tiny increments. When life changes suddenly, it has a profound emotional impact. While steady changes can have the…
Christians throughout the world today sense themselves “called out,” complicit in the suffering and violence of the world. We hear the cries, “Why have you forsaken me?” from all walks of people and animals and Earth herself. THIS Good Friday, perhaps like no other, we see and experience face-to-face the world’s collective shadow through the…
Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar. Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means “command.” It refers to Jesus’ new commandment given on this day to love one another as he has loved us, not superficially, but selflessly. On Holy Thursday—the day before the crucifixion…
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (New International Version) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time…
I just finished reading the book Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor by Leonardo Boff, and I found myself starting at the end, reading chapter by chapter from the back. Then after several chapters, moving to the beginning of the book and finding my way forward. I usually don’t read books this way,…
The 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s collaborative retelling of the Christian gospel from the perspective of Judas. The musical shocked traditional Christians with its Judas-centric perspective and its emphasis on Jesus’ humanity. Many were not comfortable with a story of Jesus that was not in line with…
Next week invites Christians throughout the world to Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. Scripture during this week invites all to reflect with Jesus through his last days of earthly existence through his death to a spirit of hope and resurrection. Given the pandemic, many people feel as though we have been…
The Blessing of the Fleet is a Catholic tradition that began in Mediterranean fishing communities to usher forth a safe and abundant fishing season. Even now, the tradition persists, and boats line up along shores all over the world to receive the blessing at the start of a new season. As we find ourselves entering…
Late winter is a transitional time, revealing things we may not have noticed and helping to prepare us for a new season. I really enjoy haiku, from Basho to Jack Kerouac’s “American Haikus.” For me, haiku can feel like a kind of peaceful medicine, like deep breathing or sipping tea, illustrating balance, helping me be…
“Imagination never pretends to know it all. It never demands or claims an absolute standpoint, but it always relishes and celebrates the fact that it is on the threshold where it cannot see everything. The kind of knowing that is in imagination is knowing through exploration.” —John O’Donohue, Walking in Wonder As we grow older,…