When my son Patrick was three, I was invited to his pre-school for a performance. The children sang songs for the parents and I remember so clearly a sliver of stillness between songs. As one song ended and before another began, Patrick sought me out in the crowd, locked eyes with me, and in a …
Years ago a friend told me that she often pays attention to the way a person walks. She described the way a few of our mutual acquaintances walked and what each person’s pattern of walking revealed. Since then, I too notice the way people walk and even more importantly, I have learned to pay attention …
A few years ago, I was asked to give a reflection for the week of prayer for Christian unity at St. Vincent College. I stood at the podium before I began and looked out at the people gathered there. The crowd consisted of clergy from various Christian denominations, students, monks, lay people, as well as …
Several years ago, my daughter Molly moved back to Pennsylvania after living in California for a number of years. She had a small silver Hyundai Elantra and after packing it with all of her things, there was room for one passenger so I flew across the country to accompany her on the long drive. Wanting …
I recently read a novel by Rosamunde Pilcher called Wild Mountain Thyme. Amid life changing circumstances, one of the characters in the book is lamenting the loss of a seashell she had collected. She is told, “The sea has many gifts.” It is a statement of abundance, a statement of hope. When something is lost, …
Last week my daughter Molly came to Ligonier to visit with her sister Rebecca. I had to work that day, but decided to take my lunch hour in Ligonier at Rebecca’s house so I could visit with my daughters and grandchildren. When I came into the house my three-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Rosie said, “Grandma, let me …
I am a creature of habit. I like to repeat things over and over again. I like the things that are familiar. I find strength, depth, and meaning in the repetition. The discipline of repeating was ingrained in me as a child through my participation in competitive gymnastics. Gymnastics practices consisted of repeating routines over …
We live in a world that tells us we are not enough. The message you are not enough accompanied by the message you don’t have enough is so pervasive in our culture that if we are inattentive to our interior lives, we will let these messages inform our decisions and the way we function in …
On December 12, 1941, Thomas Merton entered the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani as a postulant. On that occasion he wrote a poem titled, Poem for My Friends, Dec 12—13. The poem expresses Merton’s view of monastic life as he stands on the edge of entering the silence. One line in the poem captures …
In an introductory course on the Hebrew Bible at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Professor Jared Jackson told us a story about a man from his church who died suddenly. In the pocket of the man’s coat there was a crinkled, faded, well-worn piece of notebook paper with a handwritten quote on it that read, I command …