Newtown One Year Anniversary

December 14th, 2013
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Today we pause and pray for the community of Newtown, Connecticut and in particular for the families of the 26 victims shot in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  At a press conference earlier this week, the families asked that people remember the 6 adults and 20 children on this tragic one year anniversary by performing an act of kindness or volunteering with a community group.
You can visit their new website at www.mysandyhookfamily.org

Nothing More — The Alternate Routes

November 29th, 2013
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After a day spent counting our blessings and giving thanks, today we are full of gratitude right? To keep that warm and fuzzy and wonderful feeling of kindness going, here is a song introduced to me by Hannah Donnelly (a Jesuit Volunteer Corps alumni & my son’s girlfriend) that I know I will be singing or humming to myself today or whenever I feel my patience starting to wear.  It is a beautiful song, offering hope and I think it fosters the spirit of giving. The song, “Nothing More” was written specifically for Newtown Kindness (www.newtownkindness.org) and is performed by… Read More

Newtown On Labor Day

September 2nd, 2013
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Today is Labor Day and I have the day off from work.  YEAH!!! I hope you do too! Maybe you are planning to go to a friend’s house for a special holiday meal or you are going to cook for your family.  Or maybe you’re just hangin’ at your own house catching up on personal projects.  Or maybe you’re going to go to an afternoon picnic or watch a community parade. In Newtown, Connecticut today, there will be a parade.  A parade of love and community and healing. It will be same parade that thousands of residents have watched and… Read More

The Uncertain Path of Newtown’s Mourning Parents

June 10th, 2013
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It is rare for a national newspaper to begin a story on its Sunday front page that continues to run for five pages of with lots of pictures and is dedicated to the subject of grief. But that is just what The Washington Post did yesterday and Eli Saslow, who wrote and reported the devastating story, and Linda Davidson, who photographed the compelling pictures for the story, deserve a standing ovation for bringing much needed attention to what life is now like for the Barden family of Newtown, Connecticut, a family in the throes of raw, searingly painful grief as… Read More

Gabby & Mark

April 19th, 2013
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I have written about Gabby Giffords in previous posts because she is a source of inspiration to me. She is the very definition of courage and resilience and lives her life with a great deal of passion.  Despite being shot in the head over two years ago, she continues to move forward and remain in public life because she wants to make the world a safer place. Gun control is Gabby’s top priority and today’s post focuses on just part of the dialogue surrounding this issue. Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly With her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, Gabby has… Read More

Comfort Dogs

January 28th, 2013
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“Charlie”  They say that dogs can sense when people need comforting. And when dogs feel a person’s fatigue, sadness or loneliness, it is in their nature to give companionship and sometimes entertainment to the person in need. I have been watching the generous spirit of a new puppy named Charlie who has joined the family of one of my sisters.  Charlie is full of so much energy and love and he just can’t wait for someone to hold him and play with him.  Charlie is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and he has an uncanny sixth sense about which person… Read More

Do Not Look Away

December 23rd, 2012
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Courtesy of CNN.com     Hold a hand. give a hug.  Open your heart. We cannot not be afraid to offer comfort and empathy.  I know it’s difficult to step outside of yourself and reach out to others in pain. To find a way to comfort and empathize with someone in pain requires a certain amount of introspection; an ability to put the brakes on your own needs and try to put yourself in the other person’s place.  Compassion requires you to stop thinking about yourself and imagine what another person is feeling while dealing with a life crisis or… Read More

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

December 19th, 2012
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Cast of NBC’s “The Voice” singing a tribute to victims in Newtown, CT A good friend who tragically lost a loved one in the Newtown, CT mass shooting yesterday posted on her Facebook page this beautiful and haunting video of the coaches and artists from NBC’s hit show, The Voice, singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in a tribute to the 20 children and six adults who died in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary School. I think it is the simplicity of the song’s message that makes it so powerful.  Let the healing powers of the music fill your soul and… 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