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We have been using Bilbo Baggins of Hobbit fame for our Lenten preparation. I hope these reflections have caused you to search a little deeper than past years. Our weeks of Lenten practices have been preparing us for celebrating the great feast of Easter; the great gift and mystery of our redemption made present, re-presented […]
Bilbo, as you might recall, had Took blood mixed with his father’s Baggins’ blood. He looked and behaved like his father; “solid and comfortable”, but he “got something a bit queer in his make-up” from his mother’s side. The Tooks were not as respectable as the Baggins Hobbits because they tended to have an adventurous, […]
In my last post, Bilbo Baggins helped us to examine the importance of stepping out of our comfort zones and illustrated that growth in virtues is paramount to the spiritual life. Comfort zones weren’t the only challenge Bilbo faced. He and his dwarf companions had to contend with dragon sickness. In Tolkien’s world, dragons were […]
I often think of a hobbit’s quiet life and simple pleasures with longing, but there is something about hobbits themselves worthy of reflection. Gandalf sums it up: “There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself.” This can also be said of us. […]
Lent is quickly approaching. Rather than focusing on what you are going to give up and do, lets look at why you are going to do it? What is your motive? What is driving you? Often people approach Lent with an attitude of seeing it as a time of gritting one’s teeth and surviving the […]
I am a Roman Catholic who happens to live in America, a country I truly love. My political allegiance, as an American Catholic, is to the candidates who comes closest to supporting and seeking to live out Christian values, who upholds and defends the dignity of the human person as God created and the US […]
Sometime. How often does this word appear in your thoughts and vocabulary over the course of a 24-hour day? Sometime? The dictionary defines “sometime” as a time in the future or the past that is not known or not stated. I came across this gem: “Sometime is not a day of the week.” I fall […]
For most Americans, a sense of guilt fills our thoughts as the holidays end and a new year begins. We feel the prick of our consciences from over eating, partying, drinking, sweets, and lack of proper exercising. Our response to this guilt is to make some New Year resolutions. I have found we often start […]
I had to make a trip to town. The minute I got out of the car, I heard the jingle of that bell that reminds me that the Salvation Army is set up by the main entry and it’s the Christmas season. I shuttered. I was a man with a mission that should take me […]
The Advent season is a real gift to us. With all the preparation for Thanksgiving behind us yet fresh in our minds, we move into the Christmas season, which started in retail stores this year in August. There is Christmas traveling, family gatherings, shopping lists, the anticipated ‘Black Friday” and ‘Cyber Monday’ with all the […]
There has been a lot of buzz of late in our parishes about the New Evangelization and Mission Fields. Evangelization has been around since Jesus founded the Church, yet over the last couple of years, we have heard our bishop speak and write about the steps the Holy Spirit is giving us in the areas […]
My wife and I recently had the opportunity to visit our daughter living in New Orleans. One evening, while having dinner at her home she showed us a large piece of art hanging over the fire place that had come with the house. It had a distinctive line running through the middle of it.The bottom […]
It was a full morning, pouring myself out for others; being upbeat and positive and maintaining an openness to the needs of the people that came forward and presented themselves to me; giving me a glimpse through the window of their soul into a sacred and holy place. It was good, but I was exhausted. […]
Over a span of 4 weeks, I had been asked to officiate as a deacon at three funerals. Two of them were a challenge. In one case the person and their family struggled with the pain of alcoholism. In another, the deceased and family struggled with suffering and the extreme pain of a burst colon. […]
Have you ever been told to “Take a hike!” by someone? In 2018, one of my daughters asked me if I was open to take a hike with her on a portion of the Appalachian Trail (AT) through the Great Smoky Mountains in September of 2019. This was a dream come true. I love hiking […]
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I look forward each year to walking down to our apple trees that are ready to harvest in late August and early September. Picking a red apple and biting into its sweet, crisp, juiciness cannot be beat. I only have a 2-3 week period before they become […]
I enjoy canoeing. My first canoe trip was a section of the Minnesota River with my brother, in a borrowed canoe, when we were in high school. It was just the two of us. The enjoyment of that trip has led me to make many other canoe trips. I have canoed through rapids, flood waters, […]
I came across an entry in my 2023 journal that is so pertinent today. Fr. Keller, O.P., wrote in A Year with the Eucharist, day 223, “It is possible to become so engaged with the material world that we begin to see ourselves as primarily, or even only, our bodies. Some forget about the life […]
Often times, my blogs start with an idea and the moving of the Holy Spirit as I seek to share with my readers something that will be of help to them. How these blogs come about always varies and there seems to be no set template for their writing. So is the case with this […]
My wife and I have a tradition going back to our honeymoon of 1975. We enjoy camping together. We have camped many places, and in many weather conditions. We recently decided to camp on the prairies of western Minnesota at Lac Qui Parle State Park. While camping, I experienced two things I hadn’t counted on. […]
My wife and I parked the car and walked to the sidewalk that followed the rapidly moving water. The river was wide and in the distance a rumbling could be heard. I picked up a small branch and chucked it into the river. It immediately shot forward and in no time vanished out-of-site around the […]
I live in north central Minnesota, and no, I can’t see the North Pole or the end of the world from here. Our record snow falls and cool temperatures to extreme hot and drought conditions came suddenly and un-expectantly last year, turning our lawns brown and crisp. No rain for two months in forested areas, […]
When I was a young kid, I was playing with some neighbors in a field behind our home. I sat down on an old stump to rest. I heard, “Don’t move!” I froze. I had unknowingly sat down on a garter snake’s nest. I was covered with snakes. Fear of snakes was permanently etched into […]
My favorite time of day is early morning before dawn. The darkness is turning into light; the silence is peaceful and still; the crazy pace of activity has not yet begun. Sitting with a cup of coffee, “liquid grace,” I watch the new day birth. I focus on God, pondering His marvelous workmanship. As I […]
I love the spring of the year when the tyranny of winter melts into the past and new life springs up. I love the way the Church places Easter in this spring time season and then gives us 50 days to celebrate. Although we have had snow during various Easters in the past, especially over […]
In the early days of the COVID 19 epidemic, our lives were thrown into great dishevel. We were trying to sort out the best course of action and what to believe. People kept saying they couldn’t wait to get back to normal. Things today are not the same as pre-COVID days. What most people failed […]
It’s been 50 plus years since my 11 years of playing football, including three years starting offensive lineman in college. I can’t tell you how many coaches and how many times we were reminded to Focus! Focus! Focus! With Holy Week around the corner, I want you to Focus! We have been pondering suffering so […]
In my last blog, we looked at how God can bring good out of evil. In this blog, we want to look at how suffering is redemptive. Suffering entered the world with the original sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth taking on human flesh. He became like us […]
I know of an active Protestant who was finding the prosperity gospel her denomination preached not lining up with Jesus’ teachings on suffering. She found Jesus telling His followers that following Him would involve self-denial and suffering. Her studies led to two conclusions. First, Jesus, the Son of God, embraced suffering, and because we are […]
I went to the garage to find something I was looking for. My garage can be a dark hole at times when I allow my procrastination to get the better of me. In my frustration I cried out to God for His peace and His help in bringing order to the chaos I saw before […]
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Brainerd, MN
“The Pentecost event made things come alive. Deacon Knuth gave clarity to the role of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus is, and who we are as adopted Sons and Daughters of God.”
- Kathy