For many of my years, “Home for the Holidays” was in the back of most people’s minds come Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I reflect on a practice that seems to be non-existent. Going to God’s House to give thanks on Thanksgiving.
“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” Sometimes it is referred to as “the duck test”.Jesus had his own way of saying it. “By their fruits, you will know them”. As I was thinking about the feast of C…
Jesus did not found the church as an institution with a slick “Public Relations” plan. He started a movement that developed into the community we know as the early church.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I explore how this came to be.
True optimism is the ability to see the emptiness of half the glass while choosing to focus the fullness of the other half of the glass.
“ Elizabeth experienced a wide range of challenges and joys as a daughter, wife, mother, laborer, and convert to Catholicism. God’s love and the hope for eternal life gave purpose, meaning, and direction to Elizabeth’s life. She changed “Why, God?” into “Wi…
Parents, for the most part, “learn on the job.” What can learn about our role as church today as we celebrate the feasts of the Holy Famiily and Mary Mother of the Church as well as the upcoming “Year of Joseph”?
Jesus’ mission was all about teaching us to pay it forward. After all, God has first loved us and wants us to pass on the gift of God’s in our lives! Isn’t this what Jesus did? And it changed and is changing the world!
Let us not settle only for what is necessary. The Lord does not want us to narrow our horizons or to remain parked on the roadside of life. He wants us to race boldly and joyfully towards lofty goals.
I am wondering if I am the only one unable, and unwilling, to get Tammy’s words out of my head… and whether you will find new and perhaps visceral understanding of scripture passages read so often.
Holiness will look very different, depending on the health of the family dynamics, but regardless, all families are called to holiness.
So that is my purpose. To know, love, and serve God as Mom. So, when I was lying in bed and I heard Lilly crying at 2 AM I didn’t just hear Lilly crying, I heard God crying asking me to love him and to serve him.
The heart of every gift is in the relationship. The lesson to be learned is that gifts, even unappreciated ones, are signs of love rather than the magical fulfillment of wishes. Sometimes the two overlap but sometimes they don’t.
Whether great or small, events have a way of shaping our moods. But ultimately, it is what we are aware of and focus on that shapes our moods. Let’s focus on the big picture … even in our doubts and confusion.