Yes! I figuratively rubbed shoulders with some 2000 bishops inside St. Peter’s! There are not many left who can say that.
Here I share my journey from a pre-Vatican II church to the church after Vatican II.
I will also share how belatedly I discovered that Vincent was one of the forerunners of the Church Pope Francis is calling us to become.
Year: 2022
Bible in One Hand, Newspaper In the Other
I don’t normally read InterVarsity publications. One popped up in a google search for material related to the words of a theologian ” Pray with the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I share two aspects on what that might mean.
Ancestry.com and Mary’s memories!
Mary “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; cf. 2:51). We can remember with Mary some of the memories she kept in her heart. The rosary is an invitation to look through her mother’s eyes at Jesus, the center of her life!
Pope Francis’ “Puzzle Box Picture”
The picture on a puzzle box inspired me to see how the pieces fit together. This morning I read a reflection, “Either an Evangelizing Church or a Worldly Church. It provided me with the picture on the “Pope Francis puzzle box! I offer it as a picture of what guides Pope Francis.
Biblical Coverups and Gotchas
They were comfortable… until they were told a story. Then they learned an uncomfortable truth. The person in the story out there, hid in their own heart.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk i explore how Pope Francis tells us a story about ourselves that unmasks our coverups and deceptions.
I Can’t Take It Anymore!
Today we hear cries of pain of a people saying I can’t take it anymore after the conquest of Jerusalem. They faced unspeakable losses of lifestyle and challenges to their faith.
They had to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and somehow find the strength to carry on. Can we learn from them?
Are You Done With the Virus??
I see some connections with another more benign virus – the Vincentian Virus. COVID19 Is both similar to and very different from the Vincentian Virus.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I explore the Vincentian movement as a desirable virus that continues to spread… hopefully infecting even more people.
Seeing Beyond the Facts On the Ground
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I ask how many of us see beyond the facts in front of us. What would it mean to see things as Jesus… and St. Vincent… did?
Are You a Genius? You Might Be Surprised!
A biographer of geniuses thinks their most common trait may be the extraordinary ability to apply creativity and imaginative thinking to almost any situation.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I explore why St. Vincent dePaul should be classified as a genius. By his life, Vincent also shows us how to develop our gift for imaginative thinking.
Growing Up – a Movement Becoming Aware of Itself
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I explore how Vincentians are becoming aware of themelves as a movement rather than just branches of a specific family. People from all walks of life and professions seek to serve the poor and the marginalized wherever they may be and whatever their needs.
If Cathedrals Could Speak… Would We Listen?
In this Vincentian Mindwalk, I explore the stained glass windows of the great cathedrals as catechisms about God. I will also look at lessons of “the cathedral of creation.”
In Memoriam!
In Memoriam
“All Are Welcome” … Really?
What do we mean when we sing “All are welcome?” In Jesus, God welcomes all of us. Do we do this in memory of Jesus who welcomed even his enemies?
Do You Remember Many Sermons?
In the Vincentian Mindwalk I offer quotes from a sermon I definitely remember. I hope it whets your appetite enough to view it on YouTube. On the BBC channel alone, it has been viewed over 1.5 million times!
United Against… Or… With Our Enemies?
In this Vincentian Mindwalk written on a 9/11 anniversary. I explore a connection between 9/11 as uniting us against our enemies and 9/14 which challenges us to love our enemies.
Catechetical Sunday – Getting to know something… or… someone?
Getting to know something… or… someone? This is the basic focus of catechetics.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I explore how the lyrics of a Broadway helped me better understand Catechetical Sunday.
Do You Prefer Courtrooms or Banquet Halls?
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I explore whether there is an unconscious tendency to think of heaven as something awarded to us if we have enough evidence to convince the judge. Or, do we have a deep-down feeling heaven will be the best family gathering?
Jesus Talks About Tough Choices
Luke, a generation after Jesus, uses Jesus’ stories to help Gentile Christians who faced painful choices. Luke, a Greek speaking outsider himself, wrote primarily to those who, like him, were outsiders to the “in” group. He used Jesus’ own stories to speak to the everyday problems these second-generation followers – rejection from the Pharisees and rejection by their own families.
How Many of Us Have Reimagined Labor Day?
Most of us think of Labor Day as marking the last hurrah of summer. In this Vincentian Mindwalk I try to reimagine the historic origin of Labor Day… as well as a restful BBQ recorded in the New Testament.
Pope Francis Just Won’t Stop!
“Pope Francis just won’t stop!” In this Vincentian Mindwalk I share with you what one commentator refers to as 96 hours that reveal changes in the Christian world we grew up in. I refer to 96 hours of August 27-29-30, 2022.
Jesus – An Obnoxious Guest
The story of what Jesus did as a dinner guest of a leading Pharisee challenges me to think about it in today’s terms.
In Luke’s retelling the story he speaks to both fellow Gentiles as well as the Jewish people… and also us today.
To the English-speaking Churches On Planet Earth
“Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbors, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them “the middle class of holiness”…
Learning From Frogs and Canaries
We have often heard the stories of the lessons we can learn from frogs and canaries. Now they can help us understand why Pope Francis invites us to join another month-long celebration with the world’s 2.2 billion Christians.
Memories Keep Relationships Alive
We have all experienced the loss of someone who loved us. A part of us died with this person. We cope with this loss in many ways. In this Vincentian Mindwalk I invite you to explore ways our memories help us understand Jesus asking us to “do this in memory of me.”
Fire – blessing or curse?
“Fire: while it warms us with God’s love, it wants to burn our selfishness, to enlighten the dark sides of life – we all have them, eh! – to consume the false idols that enslave us.”
“To set people’s hearts on fire”, this is how Vincent described the vocation of his followers. He allowed God’s fire to transform him!
Zooming our way into a digital world?
Email and Zoom are both the blessing and the curse of the process of waking up to a digital revolution.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk, I use “Zooming“ as a metaphor for waking uo to different ways of doing business… and serving others.
Mary Finally Knows
Mark Lowry in 1984 wrote the lyrics for “Mary, Did You Know?”. The song went on to become a modern Christmas classic. In this Vincentian Mindwalk, I invite you think about the questions, add your own, and, finally, think about what we might learn from the questions.
Can You Believe What the Pope Said About Old Age?
In my 80+ years I had never thought of old age as a ministry, the ministry of bearing witness that the best is yet to come. Pope Francis hopes we can revitalize this special ministry of awaiting the Lord – it is a ministry,
Heavens Tell the Story of God
Recently many of us were astounded to see pictures of parts of creation that are more than 13 billion light years away. I invite you to explore with me what the heavens tell of the glory of God. And what it might mean that Mary is the Queen of Creation.
Finding my way back to Galilee with Pope Francis
Pope Francis says “Each one of us has our own “Galilee,” the place where I initially recognized Jesus loved me . We need to rediscover this memory.
Rom 16, 13 reads: "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also." If this…
Have a blessed Holy Week!
I have never thought about the people that were named in the Gospels. I would agree that they may be…
Generally, I love the laconic nature of Mark's Gospel. The Passion narrative is very compelling in its starkness, with one…
Father John, Blessings to you as you step cautiously down that new path. Grace and Peace be with you!