Illness gets in the way of today's update, dear ones, but I wanted to share this with you. As one who enjoys the gift of being a leader, I can assure you the quickest way to get derailed from your vision and goals is to allow criticism and offense to distract you. Don't do it.…
Fr. Barnabas Powell
At this time of year, there is a familiar sound in front of the stores I visit. It is the distinct sound of bell-ringing and the seasonal sight of a red bucket. Frankly, it is a comfort to me. And I have taught my children that we have a family rule: We never pass the…
Faith is too big for just one person.
That's the reason why the shallow reduction in modernity of the person to a mere individual has such horrible results for that person, society, and world.
Just today, I was reading an article about how worried folks are in Colorado about legalized marijuana being used by under aged kids.…
Why do we make time for everything, but worship?
Why does it take a tragedy or a problem to turn our hearts toward God?
Why do we handle this treasure of faith so loosely?
Why do we treat our souls in a way we would never treat our bodies?
Why are we so quick to believe the worst in…
On this Saturday, I invite you to contemplate this bit of wisdom from St.Ambrose of Milan:
"He took what is mine in order that He might impart to me what is His. He took it not to overturn it but to fill it."
If we are to ever escape the constant and consistent gravitational pull of mediocrity…
"I'm their leader! Which way did they go?" I have a cap with two bills on it, one in the front and one in the back with that slogan on it. It's funny because it's so often true.
Leadership is always such a rewarding and challenging calling. In fact, if you could get most leaders to…
I remember sermons I preached years ago admonishing the congregation to "love each other more" and "be joyful," and I also remember the puzzled looks on their faces as I could almost hear them asking in their heads "OK, how do I do that?!"
Too many times we so quickly "tell" our friends what they have…
Life is an amazing adventure and an amazing gift. But part of this life is the daily challenge of actually being awake to that amazement and the call to progress ion our lives.
George Bernard Shaw once said "Youth is wasted on the young." What he meant by that is when we have great strength and…
"Every calamity is to be overcome by endurance." Virgil
The ability to have "stick-to-it-tavness" is a learned trait. The fact is endurance is both a gift and a habit that can be developed. That means our ability to learn how to endure is something we hold within our power to control.
Most of us know someone in…
You've met people like this. You may have even had a few of them as fellow students in college. You know the ones. They are the students who ask inconvenient questions of the professor that calls for complicated answers and explanations. Those are the fellow students that always seemed to throw off the lecture and…