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 […]
Category Archives: Awe and Wonder
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
One Day
Sometimes, all you need is one day. After a week or two of unseasonably cold weather, yesterday was the perfect autumn day. Beautiful sunrise, clear blue sky, 50-degree temps, nary a breeze and life around me bursting with color. All it takes is a single day like that to confirm the existence of a Creator, […]
What Will You Do When It’s Cold?
As Autumn ushers in colder winds from Canada, friends and acquaintances ask me – as I continue my sabbatical in a 10×16 shed with best friend Clarence – “What will you do when it’s cold?” I appreciate their concern and curiosity. Construction on the house is progressing so slowly that I will consider myself fortunate […]
Medicine Wheel
In 2010, Ash Wednesday occurred on February 17th. Mrs. tVM and I attended the early morning service at the Redemptorist Renewal Center (RRC) in Picture Rocks, Arizona, 3.5 miles from our home on the edge of the Saguaro National Park to the northwest of Tucson. It was the first Ash Wednesday service I had attended […]
Water
I am midway through my ninth week of living minimally ‘off the map.’ Excepting the broken leg from a week ago, it has been an exhilaratingly positive experience on all fronts: spiritually, mentally and physically. I was schooled in the ‘whole man concept’ as a cadet at the Air Force Academy 50 years ago. That […]