Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. –Psalm 90:12– I go to prepare a place for you. –John 14:2– Whenever I discover that one of my students plays golf, I tell him or her all about Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book:
Read moreNot Our Home
And what I say to you, I say to all, “Watch.” –Mark 13:37– Early this past summer, my friend Kevin became fascinated with a plant he saw growing at a local nursery. It was called an “angel’s trumpet.” Kevin couldn’t say enough about the plant, so I asked him
Read moreLatin Sayings
Abusus non tollit usum. Misuse does not abolish use. (Misuse of something is no argument against its proper use.) Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini, qui fecit caelum et terram. (Psalm 124:8) Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Ad maiorem Dei gloriam. (St.
Read moreGo Fish Poem
I thought we all might do well to break out our fishing gear anew. Some fishermen go out to sea with specially crafted nets. They catch an awful lot of fish, which end up in markets. But there are very many fish that nets will never take. Some fish are
Read morePresentation Is Everything
But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman. –Galatians 4:4– I am a disgrace to my Japanese heritage in at least this one respect: While I do not mind giving gifts, I hate wrapping them. I make all kinds of excuses to
Read moreThe Saints: Higher than Hubble
The Hubble Space Telescope,[1] named in honor of astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched into low earth orbit in 1990. With its 7.9-foot mirror, it is still in orbit and may continue to operate until 2030 or even 2040. Because it travels outside earth’s atmospheric distortion, the Hubble Telescope is
Read moreSoul Physician
It is not the healthy who need a physician, but they who are sick. But go, and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I have come to call sinners, not the just. –Matthew 9:12-13– In this insightful observation, Jesus clearly indicates that the art
Read moreWhere There’s Smoke…
“Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” –John 2:16— Every year when we study Confirmation and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, I tell my students about two classic psychological experiments in connection with right judgment. In the Solomon Asch Conformity Experiment (conducted in the 1950s), the subject
Read moreYou Are My Sunshine
Homily Delivered at Notre Dame of Bethlehem Roman Catholic Church Trinity Sunday, June 10th, 2001 for Bethlehem Catholic High School’s Baccalaureate Mass The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. –Proverbs 12:18, NIV– Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity.
Read moreOf Lampposts, Lions, Language, and Lewis: Far-Reaching and Unimagined Consequences
It was the autumn of 1980. My friend Ann and I were walking to the Harvard Divinity School Library. As we made our way along the little path that wound its way among fragrant pine trees, we paused before an old-fashioned looking lamppost, one of many on campus.
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