In an age where video screens and consumerism hold our children captive, it’s refreshing to see kids actually outdoors, exercising their muscles, their minds, and their spirits, AND engaged in FACE-TO-FACE relationships with other kids, adults and creatures as well. They remind me of my little buddy Conor and his sister Samantha who lived next …
Author Archives: tVM
Silence
We inhabit a world of chaos, and in it, silence is a rare commodity. Noise pollution is everywhere. In his book Silence in the Age of Noise, explorer Erling Kagge writes, “…the world’s secrets are hidden inside silence.” I often think of the 46th Psalm, “Be still and know that I am God…” As 2019 …
Friends
Last night, we performed our annual viewing of Frank Capra’s classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It never fails to move me on multiple levels. Every year I watch the distraught George Bailey chewing on his fingers at Martini’s bar. He admits that he is not a ‘praying man,’ but he pleads to God for …
The Highest Mountain
Mountains touch a man’s soul. Those of us who have lived in and near mountains understand why. They are large. They are silent. They are sentinels. I thought about that this morning on my bike ride as I gazed north at the Sacaton Mountains south of Phoenix. Last week, I hiked the foothills of the …
Homecoming
My Arizona homecoming is complete. Yesterday morning, I attended early morning prayer and Mass at the Redemptorist Renewal Center. A new cadre of celebrants has replaced my old spiritual mentors Fras Paul, Greg, and Charlie, but Father Peter remains and we were able to chat for a few minutes. People come and go, but the …
As the Winter Solstice Approaches
I think a lot about light, maybe more during the Christmas season when there is less of it than at other times of the year. My friend Father Paul frequently quotes words from Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell lyrics But the tallest candlestick Ain’t much good without a wick You’ve got to stay bright to be the …
Waffles
Waffles were a special breakfast when I was a kid. While pancakes were a regular staple raising our kids in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, we didn’t invest in a waffle iron because it was difficult to make enough waffles to feed five kids at one time. As an adult, I rarely ate breakfast until …
Learning to Pray
On our home page, we profess John O’Donohue’s truth, “Prayer is the presence that holds harmony in the midst of chaos. Every time you pray, you add to the light and harmony of creation. If you do not pray, if you do not believe in prayer, then you are living off the prayers of other …
Feeling Fit
I feel my best when I engage in regular exercise. Excepting my college years as a varsity athlete – of course in those days at the Air Force Academy one did not have to be a varsity athlete to exercise regularly – I have never been more fit than during the last ten years when …
Thanksgiving
Today is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. We should celebrate Thanksgiving Day every day. I believe we are a culture that takes too many good things for granted. Don’t be counted among those churlish souls who fail to be thankful, who think that life …