Mercy

Beatitudes Now

Today’s Gospel reading is the infamous Sermon on the Mount. As I read the words, I couldn’t help but notice how relevant they are in light of the recent protests. Now, I am not talking about the riots, vandalism, or looting, but of those standing up for what is true, good, right, just, and humane. […]

Spring 2020

This time of quiet leaves us a lot of time to ponder and reflect. A friend wrote down her thoughts from the past week and shared them with us. I thought it was a beautiful meditation worth passing along: SPRING 2020 March, with its wind, rain, and snow Has brought with itA new kind of […]

Good Friday Prisoners

On this Good Friday, at 3:00 my parents and I searched for a Stations of the Cross that we could pray. We came across the recording of Pope Francis and started watching. He was once again in a mostly empty St. Peter’s Square, with a handful of people who would be processing with the cross. […]

Public Witnesses

For the past few days, I have heard unapologetic witnessing to the grace of God in unexpected places. When I am at my prayer group or in my Bible class, the point is to recognize God’s love and mercy and to share that with one another. But I don’t expect to hear the same at […]

Extreme Mercy

Tonight in my Bible class, we discussed the “Antithesis” as given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:17-48. He challenges us to not only follow the 10 Commandments given to Moses, but to take them a step further. We should share everything we have with those who are in need. We should keep our thoughts clean and […]

Be Holy

Every Monday night, I attend a Bible class. This course takes the participant on a 4-year journey through the Bible, reading it in the light of salvation history. We started at the beginning in Genesis and have made it to Leviticus. I have tried to read the entire Bible front to back on my own, […]

Premonitions

A friend stopped by this afternoon. Among other things, we talked about how God prepares your heart for things coming up – if you really listen. People talk about having “premonitions”. My friend and I have had those feelings before. I think that God puts things in our hearts and in our thoughts. As we […]

ABC Mercy

Today at church the priest talked about Divine Mercy Sunday. He said to help remember what to do, use the ABC’s. A – ask God for His Mercy. He wants to shower His love and mercy on us, but we do need to ask. B – be merciful to others. If we want to receive […]

What is Fair

In our society, we seem to have the need to put a value on everything and everyone. At the same time we want to make sure that everyone is treated fair and equal. Those two notions can – and do – clash. I think it depends on your view of what is “fair” and “equal”. […]

Wisdom of Heaven

I went to an event this afternoon that honored those who are supporting families who foster children. In our city, there are teams of people who volunteer to help fostering families by offering babysitting, outings, running errands, or whatever else they may need. One family included a dad who was a pastor. He spoke for […]