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It happens in every household. The supper is finished, the conversation winds down, and then someone utters the fateful words: “Who’s doing the dishes?” Suddenly, chairs scrape back with remarkable speed, family members discover urgent tasks elsewhere, and the dog must be let out immediately — even if you don’t own a dog. Yes, theContinue reading “The Theology of Dishes – Finding Holiness in the Sink Full of Suds”

Yesterday, I came into the office with a very specific list of things that I wanted to accomplish. The list wasn’t one that I would usually consider terribly long, but in my mind, every thing on that list was of crucial importance. But God it would seem, thought otherwise. Yesterday was a day filled withContinue reading “Sacred Interruptions – When God Meets Us in the Moments We Didn’t Plan For”

Dear reader, I have long cherished the quiet moments of prayer, when the silence itself seems to hum with the presence of God. But lately, I’ve also found myself thinking about another kind of prayerful sound: the hearty belly laugh. If silence is the hymn of the contemplative soul, then surely laughter is the psalmContinue reading “The Ministry of Laughter – Why Joy is as Holy as Silence”

Dear reader, as I sit this morning with my first steaming cup of coffee, I am reminded once again that God’s grace often comes to us in the most ordinary of ways. Coffee is, for me at least, one of those small but daily sacraments of life. It is not (before anyone calls the Bishop)Continue reading “The Ministry of Coffee: On how a morning cup can be as sacramental as it is caffeinated”

Well, dear reader, my boots may be back in the front closet and my pack tucked away on its shelf, but I have come to realize that the Camino is not something you simply finish. Like a particularly catchy hymn that won’t leave your head (I’m looking at you, All Glory, Laud, and Honour), theContinue reading “The Camino Continues: How Pilgrimage Never Really Ends”

Dear reader, it happened again this week. I had carved out a day with a to-do list as long as my arm — laundry, phone calls, perhaps even the noble attempt to conquer the dust bunnies that seem to breed in dark corners when I’m away. Instead, sometime after lunch, I sat down in myContinue reading

Dear reader, yesterday I was invited for a round of golf in the couples’ group that my friends have every Friday afternoon. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But Padre, you are single!” Quite right. My appearance in a couples’ group may seem a little odd, but I usually get called in as the emergencyContinue reading “Golf and the Gospel: What My Short Game Teaches Me About Patience, Humility, and the Kingdom of God”

Well, dear reader, this last week of vacation seems to have slipped through my fingers like sand at the beach—or perhaps more like the last cookie on a plate, where you’re not entirely sure who ate it, but you strongly suspect it was you. Next week, I return to work, and truth be told, there’sContinue reading “Returning to the Patterns I Love”

Well, dear reader, today has been marked in my calendar as “Doctor Day.” Now, before you rush to conclusions, let me assure you — my health is good. I’m not writing this from a hospital bed or with a dramatic fainting couch at the ready. It’s simply that, since my heart troubles some years ago,Continue reading “A Heart Full of Gratitude (and Apparently Still Working Just Fine)”

Dear friends, As I sit to write this morning, the sun is only just beginning to rise. I realize, however, that within a very few days, that same moment will be greeted not with golden light but with darkness. Even here in August, the signs are already whispering to us that the seasons are changing,Continue reading “Giving Thanks for Helping Hands”