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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 […]
Life’s storms constantly assail us which can cause us to live in a climate of fear. We fear particular kinds of people, places, or things, so we avoid them. We fear the opinions of others so we silence them. We fear aging, losing our independence, losing our health, our nest egg, death, rocking the boat, […]
During the wild 1970’s, I encountered the peace movement. Mahatma Gandhi had a large following at the time. I remember reading an interview with him. He was asked if he had ever considered becoming a Christian since his non-violent teaching was similar to the teachings of Jesus. He replied that he had investigated the Church […]
The day had finally arrived. All my expectations for this moment of gift exchange, were very high. As the person opened it, everything inside me was giddy. Then shock. The response was not what I had expected. They put it aside and went to the next. I was crushed. Disappointment saturated my whole being. A […]
The noise and frolicking of summer is behind me. The harvest and canning is stacked on storage shelves. The frantic pace of trying to get everything outside done before the ground freezes and nasty weather sets in has exhausted me. “Black Friday” and “Cyberspace Monday” have assailed me. Then, along comes Advent inviting me to […]
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“I’m so grateful for Stirring Into Flame! It is what I have longed for and needed. Bless you and thank you!”
- Mary