Musings
101). Never Too Late
As I blew out the 80 candles on my birthday cake, my thoughts were filled with gratitude for all these many good years! At the same time, I couldn’t help but ask myself how best to use whatever years were left for me to serve the Lord well. My heart’s desire has been to meet…
100) Lenten Loneliness
It’s been a different Lent this year (2018), with many ups and downs, and woeful failures in my attempts to stick to my Lenten resolutions. In the first few weeks blessings abounded as I was swept from glory to glory with lots of good time in reflection, and a mini-retreat at home in Wisconsin. There…
99) Grasshoppers!
Grasshoppers! That’s the word that jumped out at me while praying with Isaiah 40:22 – “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers.” Grasshoppers? The extended passage had so many other thoughts in it, why did I keep coming back to “grasshoppers?” It made me laugh, of course, and…
98) Create In Me A Clean Heart
Lent is upon us, the season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It’s a season of repentance, allowing the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, find what needs God’s Hand of Mercy, and drawing us to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be washed clean in preparation for the celebration of Easter! The phrase “blot out or…
97) Stand Up For Jesus!
Secrets! Remember how fun it is to whisper a secret, knowing it’s a special surprise waiting to delight a friend? Perhaps for a birthday party, or a welcome home treat, the joy we experience at bringing unexpected delight to those we love is multiplied when shared with others. In Ignatian vocabulary, this can be called…
96) Stocking our Spiritual Pantry
How often when we experience something beautiful, we exclaim, “I’ll never forget this moment! It will stay with me forever!” only to find that as time passes the images aren’t quite as vivid, and the details become a bit fuzzy. We still recall the moment, but can’t quite re-capture the same delight as when it…
95) Antidote to Desolation
Our spiritual journey is often a roller coaster ride, with the highs and lows of consolation and desolation. Consolation draws us deeper into the love of God, and desolation leads us farther away from Him. St Ignatius teaches us that this is normal, and offers ways to regain our peace in his Rules for Discernment…
94) Advent Peace
We’re about to enter the third week of Advent, and the words “peace” and “forgiveness” have been on my mind a lot! It seems the two go together – we can’t really experience peace without living a forgiving life. I deeply desire to live in peace – the peace that keeps my heart at rest…
93) Communion of Saints
November 2 is celebrated in the Catholic Church as the Feast of All Soul’s Day. This day is specially designated as a day to pray for the souls of all the faithful departed, especially those who are believed to be in purgatory, awaiting their journey to heaven. Purgatory is the place of “purification, so as…
92) A Priest’s Meditation on the Passion
As a member of the Seven Sisters’ Apostolate, I have the privilege of spending one Holy Hour each week in prayer for a particular priest. The demands of the priesthood are many, and the blessings that flow through his ministry are invaluable to the life of the faithful, and to those who do not yet…
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Spiritual Sun Pennies 