Posts Tagged: catholic

Mermaid — A Memoir

January 8th, 2016
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mermaid

My wonderful son and I share a love of reading all kinds of books.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or biography.

A good story always grabs us and we like to share books that we discover and enjoy so much that we can’t put them down until we arrive at the last word.

As a Christmas present, he gave me a memoir titled, Mermaid, a book that neither of us had read but still his instincts told him that this would probably be a book I would enjoy.

He was right!  I loved it and whipped right … Read More

Congratulations Pope Francis!

December 12th, 2013
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Yesterday’s news that Time magazine selected Pope Francis as their Person Of The Year surprised me just as much as when the College of Cardinals elected him to become Pope. I didn’t think it would really happen but I am ecstatic that it did! I knew Pope Francis was a finalist for the annual honor but I really thought that Time magazine was going to go with former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who this year released hundreds of thousands of classified government documents revealing the depth of the U.S. government’s surveillance on phone and internet communications. But spiritual… Read More

A Pope of Hope

September 23rd, 2013
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From Southern Maryland to Northern Virginia, everywhere I went this past weekend people were talking about Pope Francis and his  recent groundbreaking remarks about the state of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis, you are a healing breath of fresh air and you arrived on the global scene just when we needed to listen your joyous and merciful outlook on life!! It was amazing to me that people spontaneously brought it up in conversation no matter what else was previously being talked about.  I find religion is sometimes discussed at social events but not very often.  And in Washington, DC, rarely… Read More

St. Francis & His BFF Clare

March 22nd, 2013
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With the recent election of Pope Francis I to head the Catholic Church, people are talking about faith and religion with a renewed enthusiasm. I think people are filled with hope and that’s always a good thing. Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! and the mainstream news outlets have been full of stories and comments about what changes, if any, this new pope may bring about.  I was at friend’s house for dinner the other day and the subject of the Pope spontaneously came up.  Even my dentist started talking about it yesterday morning and I don’t think we’ve ever discussed the subject… Read More

Chocolate or Kindness?

February 15th, 2013
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  Finding the Balance of Chocolate and Kindness Don’t let the collar turn you off. Fr. James Martin is a charismatic Jesuit priest who has a Lenten message that can be appreciated by followers of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Folk Religions and even atheists. It’s a simple message but one that is challenging for people (myself included) to practice.  And it doesn’t have to be Lent to make it happen.  We can practice his message any time of the year. Lent is traditionally a time when Catholics give up something.  But suppose instead of giving up chocolate (that would… Read More

Fat Tuesday

February 12th, 2013
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Today is Fat Tuesday. For Catholics, today is the last hurrah before lent begins tomorrow.  That is how Mardi Gras come to be.  Essentially, Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and with Mardi Gras comes some hard partying and parades and good times before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time of fasting and serious reflection, a time of giving something up or doing something that’s personally hard in order to prepare yourself for the celebration of Easter. This year, once again, my demon is sugar. I know all the bad stuff about sugar and how it… Read More

Newtown: A Priest’s Tears

December 18th, 2012
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Monsignor Robert Weiss I always think of priests as people who have heard and seen it all. After years of listening to thousands of people confess their sins (large and small), and executing innumerable weddings, funerals and baptisms, I can’t imagine that priests are surprised by anything anybody does.  I’m sure their deep faith gives them hope and optimism about human behavior but there probably isn’t anything new under the sun for them. Until I read about Monsignor Robert Weiss. Weiss is a priest at St. Rose of Lima parish in Newtown, CT and he horribly lost more than 10… Read More

Aren’t You Over It Yet?

October 3rd, 2012
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I am Catholic but I often find strength and wisdom in the teachings of other religions.  We’re all here in the same boat and we’re all here to get along, so why not reach out and see what we can learn from each other? With that thought in mind, I am sharing a short insightful piece that a friend gave to me.   It is written by a rabbi and I found his thoughts to be very comforting.  I hope you do too: Getting Over It By Rabbi Earl A. Grollman My wife died fourteen months ago.  Even though I don’t… Read More

Election Chatter

August 13th, 2012
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American Flag in Ocean City, MD Maybe you talk about politics.  Maybe you don’t. Either way, we have 86 days to go until Election Day and now that the presidential and vice presidential tickets for both parties are set, it’s going to be a long, hard slog. How to survive in Washington, DC and remain hopeful that everyday conversation can remain civil? It is possible.  Vent while you’re putting your make-up on, while you’re taking a shower, while you’re walking around the house. But try not to get sucked into negative energy. One positive and healing action I have been… Read More