Author Archives: tVM

Namaste

Last month, we suggested that the simple act of greeting your fellow man each day with a smile on your face is one of the most important acts you can accomplish. I’ve since crossed paths with the greeting “Namaste” from the Indian sub-continent.  Pronounced “NAH-mah-stay” with the emphasis on the first syllable, it can be […]

Free the Angel

Several years ago, one of my spiritual guides introduced me to the work and spirituality of Thomas Merton.  I continue to explore it every day.  His frequent reference to “point vierge” [literally translated as ‘the virgin point’] has been an important concept in my continuing quest to learn who I truly am.  Merton writes: “The […]

The Sign of Peace

I practice Catholicism because it is right for me.  As we approach the International Day of Peace, I cannot help but think of a practice I enthusiastically perform each day I attend Mass at the Lady of the Desert Chapel at the Redemptorist Renewal Center at Picture Rocks. Shortly after the congregation prays “The Lord’s […]

Anne Frank, June 12, 1929 – early March 1945

Earlier this week, a tVM subscriber pointed me to the official website of Tom Shadyac’s film “I Am.”  How or when I will see it, I don’t know, but I WILL see it.  The trailer grabbed my guts and the final statement struck with power: “We started by asking ‘What’s wrong with the world,’ and […]

A Plea for Giving

“When dealing with others, be gentle and kind …”  So wrote Lao Tzu as we posted several weeks ago when we presented verse 8 of the Tao Te Ching.  The more I think about that single sentence, the more I am moved to action.  A year ago, Deacon Ken McNealy, permanent Deacon of the Diocese […]

Luz Long, Silver Medalist, Berlin 1936

In 1967, the guest speaker at the annual athletic awards banquet at the United States Air Force Academy was Jesse Owens, the great American Olympian whose four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics spoiled Adolf Hitler’s planned Aryan showcase.  I was 18-years old and felt very special and very humble as I looked to the […]

The time is always ripe to do right

Time can be our ally, or time can be our fiercest enemy.  Has anyone ever said to you, “Time heals all wounds?”  Many attribute those words to the ancient Greek dramatist Menander. Country award-winning vocalist Clint Black includes a litany of classic ‘time statements’ in his memorable 2004 song “Spend My Time:” “Seems I made […]

The Fields of Friendly Strife

“Mandatory knowledge” was a key element for my classmates and me when we entered the United States Air Force Academy in 1967.  Of the countless facts and dates I was required to put to memory, the one that has endured the years is a quote from General Douglas MacArthur to the 1946 graduating class at […]