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 …
Time is a constant in our lives but our relationship with it is always changing. I remember as a child, lying on my back on the floor and watching dust particles dancing in the sunlight. I had nothing else to do, no place to be, no one asking me to do anything, no thought that …
A few weeks before my daughter Molly got married, I went with her for her final dress fitting. Molly’s best friend Betsy met us there and after the fitting the three of us had lunch together. Betsy is the daughter of one of my closest friends, Cathy, and because Cathy and I helped each other …
When I attended the Ph.D. program in Systematic Theology at Duquesne University, I had a marvelous professor named Dr. Marilyn Schaub. She taught Hebrew Bible and Palestinian Archeology and became my advisor and mentor. She retired when I was in my second year of the program but was kind enough to stay in touch. For …
A few days ago, during a very intense and tension filled work week, I went to visit a friend and colleague in his office to ask him a few questions about a project on which we are both working. As I left my office, I wondered if I should put on the sweater I had …