The Catholic Church celebrates several liturgical seasons throughout the year. My favorite is the season of Advent in the weeks before Christmas because Advent is a time for hope. A Review of Church Seasons The Church year begins at the end of November or early December. This year it begins on December 3. Advent: Advent is a time for hope and waiting for Jesus at Christmas. The season lasts four weeks. Christmas: Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth. Ordinary Time: The first... Read more
I wrote an article about why I love Thanksgiving. I am all about giving thanks for God’s blessings, spending a long weekend with friends and family, and eating significantly more than usual. the holiday of Thanksgiving needs an overhaul. The holiday either must be severed from its pilgrim and American Indian roots and/or the United States needs a Genocide Remembrance Day to remind people what really happened historically. My Wish I wish that a peaceful meal between pilgrims and Native... Read more
Although I often question the initial narrative that underlies the holiday, there are several reasons why I love Thanksgiving. Giving Thanks is Always Good Whatever my current circumstances, identifying reasons to be grateful always enlivens and humbles me. I am a person who can focus on what is not going “just so,” situations that could be better, and so on. When I take time to reflect on the blessings in my life, I put this critical mindset to the side.... Read more
From the moment I saw Mount Rainier live and in person, its majestic beauty wowed me. Mount Rainier reminds me of God. Beautiful Places I had seen some fantastic natural beauty before viewing Mount Rainier. The Atlantic coastline is beautiful. Acadia and Shenandoah National Parks and Assateague and Cape Cod National Seashores were preserved because they are lovely. Before my move to Washington, I had been to Santa Fe and seen some of that terrain. as well as Mt. Lassen... Read more
I like to think that at this point in my life, I can accept my strengths and weaknesses, and know that I am OK as I am and that God loves the real me. Now and then, however, I find a crack in my self-perception that challenges me to do some reflection. My outing today reminded me that I still dislike fitting a stereotype. I need to outgrow stereotypes. Another Patheos.com author has an interesting article about stereotypes. Stereotypes About... Read more
After watching some dark series on Netflix, we recently decided to rewatch one of our favorite, uplifting movies: “Field of Dreams”. Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t watched this film, you should stop reading this and do so immediately. I do not want to ruin the movie for you. I used the movie to help students understand Abraham’s call. Abraham’s Call and Vocation When I taught high school students about God’s call to Abram (Abraham), I found that it was difficult... Read more
I began writing about the way that I taught high school students about God’s call and vocation, only to realize that beginning with my own story made more sense. A question that I continue to ask is “Where does God call me?” Catholic Education I started going to a Catholic school in the fifth grade. I attended a different Catholic school for seventh and eighth grade and although there were elements I liked, I wrote about the attack of scruples... Read more
This Veterans’ Day, I feel grateful for a particular veteran of a North Korean POW camp. This soldier endured captivity primarily to ease the minds of a fellow soldier’s family. This story gives me another way of understanding what it means “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn. 15:13, NRSVCE) The Korean War Like many Americans, I know little about the Korean War. It is sometimes called the “forgotten war” because World War II and Vietnam receive so... Read more
For the number of choices Americans have for food, clothes, cleaning products, worship, social media, etc., one would think we could move beyond either/or thinking. Either/Or Questions I Hear These Days Most recently, the question of whether one supports Israel or the Palestinians has been asked. Choosing one over the other, unless one is Israeli or Palestinian, is difficult. If someone asked me that question, I would say that I do not support terrorist attacks or attacks on civilians, so... Read more
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has formed my worldview and therefore guides me when voting. Themes of Catholic Social Teaching The Catholic Church leadership has written documents on social teaching since the Industrial Revolution. Because the majority of Catholics will not read the many writings, the bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) identified seven themes that capture the essential elements of CST. 1. The life and dignity of the human person are at the heart of the... Read more
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