[Pearls Ep 128:  Friday follow-up.] Well, last weekend we had a wonderful little surprise party for Karen.  She was genuinely surprised, which ain’t easy! One of my surprises came in planning it with our daughters.  Somewhere along the way they have passed over that mysterious line from child to young adult.  They did a major Read More >

[Pearls Ep 128:  Answering atheism Tuesday.] In this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 11:1-13) the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray.  And how wonderful for us that they did, because Jesus fulfills their request by giving them (and us) the Our Father. But just like ginsu knives – there’s more. Jesus carries on to Read More >

[Pearls Ep 128:  Answering atheism Tuesday.] As we finish considering the events of Martha and Mary we can look at some ways the world  considers this. The problem Martha was having was not seeing the forest through the trees – or the Messiah through the dinner preparation. Most times when we lose sight of God, Read More >

[Pearls Ep 128:  Monday Motivation] We’re continuing with the story of Martha and Mary.  And it includes this priceless exchange:  “Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.’” Mind you, elsewhere Read More >

[Pearls Ep 127:  Answering atheism Tuesday] This Sunday we hear the encounter of Jesus with Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42). We know the set-up:  Martha is busy with homemaking, probably in the kitchen, while Mary simply sits at the feet of Jesus. We can just imagine what’s going through Martha’s mind.  Replaying the “litany of Read More >

[Pearls Ep 127:  Answering atheism Tuesday] As we wrap up our consideration of the tale of the Good Samaritan, we note that the fallen world hates Good Samaritans and Inn Keepers.  It even hates the Samaritan’s pack animal.  And to be sure the world hates the wounded Traveler. Which is a curious thing since the Read More >

[Pearls Ep 127:  Monday motivation] On Friday we looked at “being an even better Samaritan” – the idea is to look out for our neighbor – to not let them be alone – so that we help keep them from the robbers in the first place. There’s a little more to it that bears some Read More >

[Pearls Ep 127:  Friday Follow-up] The road from Jerusalem to Jericho is steep, twisting, and rocky.  There are ample places for bandits to lie in wait.  It is also an important passage, with many merchants and caravans that pass by – rich targets for sure, but always too many in number.  The bandits are cowardly Read More >

[Pearls Ep 127] This Sunday’s Gospel reading brings us the tale of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). It is fitting that we meet with the Good Samaritan and the unfortunate Traveler right after our July 4th reflections on unity – and lack thereof. In this week’s Pearls episode, we look at spiritual implications of the Read More >

[Pearls Ep 126: Happy 4th of July] We’ve been looking at unity with God – as individuals and society.  This is an opportunity to return to a familiar theme – silence. We’ve quoted time and again Venerable Fulton Sheen’s observation that there was once a time when it was easy to be a Christian in Read More >