“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” —Ronald Reagan I staunchly believe that the gift of life is from God and that life begins at the moment of conception. For me, there can be no equivocation on this issue. That is why, the decision by the state of Virginia to…

“…Purpose does not come as clear as the light of day. We have to seek it out…” 2020 presents to us all a new lease on life — a fresh slate, a clean paper, what the Greeks call tabula rasa, on which you can start writing your new story. Or if you use a computer,…

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” —Albert Eistein A circle is perhaps the perfect geometric structure there is. Although some would claim the triangle or a square to be better structures because of their stable nature, the circle and all its derivatives — the orb, the sphere,…

“As he told the story of that wondrous night to Luke, Joshua carefully removed himself from the narrative. It was to be between him and God alone.”          JOSHUA was excited with his new job at the inn.  It sure beats having to herd sheep this time of the year when the…

“Lest we forget ……… CHRIST is the reason for this season.”  “REMEMBER the Wonder” was a catchy TV ad slogan for Wonder Bread, an iconic bread company that fled the woeful state of California. But the phrase can very well be used to refer to the true season of wonder — CHRISTMAS. December days and…

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin AT a breakfast after mass at the Holy Family Church during a school fundraiser in Glendale California one beautiful fall morning five years ago, a statuesque, well groomed lady holding her breakfast tray…

Conclusion of 2 parts “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”  — Jean Baptiste Massieu (Continued from last week’s issue…) So okay, your partner is the consummate slob and you have to pick up after him. He thinks he has a maid living with him for free.  He has this maddening habit of not putting…

“…And I think about those people who mean so much to mevAnd for so many years have  made me so very happy And I count the times I have forgotten to  say “THANK YOU” And just how much I love them.” — “Sometimes”, Richard & Karen Carpenter (First of 2 parts) LONG ago, on a…

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”   —St. Augustine (Continued from last week …) Fortunately, the dollar’s value is holding up pretty nicely, this time around but don’t go crazy spending like a drunken sailor. If you are still in the work force, you know deep…

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in  the world.”    — Gustave Flaubert (Part 1 of 2) THINKING of coming home for a visit? Many would if they could, especially retirees, who now have the time and the resources and in many cases, still in good health. Travel requires…

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything…  They just make the best of everything that they have.” —Author Unknown THIS is one of my favorites since I constantly have to remind myself about the wisdom of logging off and living in real time. So here goes — Once more with feeling …… I am…

“I think we all do have a guardian angel. I believe they work through us all the time, when we are thoughtful and good and kind to each other.” — Roma Downey (Third of 4 parts) (Continued from last week…) Trust your own instincts. Your own personal experience will color the lens with which you view and…

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” — From Frank Capra’s film “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Continued from last week …) The belief in the presence and power of angels to intervene is strong in popular conservative culture. In a remarkable 1999 Hallmark film, “A Season for Miracles,” an angel plays a…

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”  — From Frank Capra’s film “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Continued from last week …) The belief in the presence and power of angels to intervene is strong in popular conservative culture. In a remarkable 1999 Hallmark film, “A Season for Miracles,” an angel plays a…

“I think that someone is watching out for me, God, my guardian angel, I’m not sure who that is, but they really work hard.” — Mattie Stepanek, Author, “Heartsongs” DO you believe in angels? I do. Most people do. The strong presence of angels in the various books of the Bible, especially during the birth…

“Be present.  It is the only thing that matters.” — Ways of the Peaceful Warrior THESE are the best of times. These are the worst of times. Charles Dickens could have said these words just as fittingly to apply to this tech crazy world we live in today. There are far too many distractions emanating…

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” —Marcus Aurelius YEARS ago, I came across an email message from a legitimate contact telling a sad story and asking for emergency money in a far-off land. I searched some phrases and sure enough, it was…

(Part 2of 2) “…Elaine and Neil were more like two Mexican jumping beans trapped in a pod. …” (Continued from the previous week…) There were happy times too and she chose to dwell on them. Elaine imagined herself to be like a film editor retaining the reels of fun and laughter they had during the…

“ Opposites do attract but likes stay together…” (Part 1 of 2) ELAINE placed sunflowers on her husband’s gravesite and quietly said a prayer. She stood alone on a gentle slope on the windswept hill.  It was getting chilly and Elaine instinctively wrapped her shawl tightly about her. It was early evening in late spring…

(Part 2 of 2) “ There are definitely some enemies in my life I definitely would wish celebrity on…” — Gary Coleman Star of the sitcom, ‘Diff’rent Strokes,’ who suffered a reversal of fortune and died at 42 (Continued from last week …) WE are tempted to look at movie stars, fat cats and other…

“ There are definitely some enemies in my life I definitely would wish celebrity on…” — Gary Coleman Star of the sitcom, ‘Diff’rent Strokes,’ who suffered a reversal of fortune and died at 42 (Part 1 of 2) IN 2010,  a young boy who climbed Mount Everest gained a spot in the Guinness Book of…

“ A useless life is an early death.” —  Goethe MOST memorable life stories that stand out and become etched in the human collective consciousness are products of oft-repeated re-writes and skilled editing. If you’ve been given the chance to restart a new life after you’ve gone through some life-changing, miraculous experience, such as surviving a…

“…The boy looked at him, shrugged his shoulders and went back to throwing one more jellyfish back to the water, and told him, “ …Made a difference to that one …” HOW about a double scoop of stories about the kindness of the human heart? The first story is that of Lou Xiaoying. Lou is…

“ Bend the stubborn heart and will… Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray” —  Veni Sancte Spiritus DAMARIS and her husband, Tom, prayed the rosary together everyday at the same early evening hour after dinner. It wasn’t always their routine but when their son, Henry, was deployed overseas during…

“Despite all aridity, LOVE, is as perennial as the grass” — From Desiderata We facebook and twitter all day long electronically creating, maintaining or killing off disposable internet relationships, that can defy space and time constraints, that can either bloom and thrive or take shallow roots and die in an instant.  It doesn’t really matter. The…

“The past is prologue.” —Shakespeare IF you’re a woman who believes in secret in such things as love-at-first sight and happily-ever-afters, TAKE HEART.  Even during this cynical, jaded Age of Information when nothing seems sacred or mysterious any more, there are still countless women (and maybe some men) the world over just like you, who…

Conclusion of 2 parts Charisse’s natural curiosity as a researcher would normally drive her to check out her story on the internet. But she felt Dolly’s story was told to her in confidence like a secret and so it will stay that way. She purposely didn’t ask for her full name because she enjoyed the…

“ Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the ground and die, It remains but a single grain with no life.” — From a hymn composed by Bernadette Farrell EMMA looked down at the busy huddle in the operating room. She was floating, hovering above the doctors and nurses in their blood spattered scrub…

A story in two Scoops (Part 1 of 2) “I’ve had it!” Charisse said to herself as she put down her phone.  This one broke up with her via text message, saying he’s found someone else and something about her being too square. They say three is a charm or in her case, she thought,…

“All you need is love.” —Lennon-McCartney PAUL, aka Saul of Tarsus, lived more than two thousand years ago. He had something to say about what does matter in life. He spoke about a special kind of love that in Greek is called Agape (ah-gah-pay). Agape is unconditional love, a kind of love that has no…