Inspired by Scholastica

Pope Francis has issued the following call: “All Christians and men (sic) of good will are called on to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty but also to improve prison conditions so that they respect the human dignity of people who have been deprived of their freedom.” In addition, he directly addressed legislators, saying, "I appeal to the consciences of those who govern to reach an international consensus to abolish the death penalty."  I thought of Pope Francis' words as I wrote to a prisoner in California. This man has a life sentence for a crime he committed when he was young. He is a Christian and accepts his conditions fairly well, but my heart ached when he told me the doctor had recommended certain shoes for his feet problem, but he was denied them by prison officials. He also mentioned that he has to wait several weeks before he receives his mail and he is only allowed outside one hour a day. These are just little things, but some prisoners oft...

"Prayer is not just spending time with God. It is partly that - but if it ends there, it is fruitless. No, prayer is dynamic. Authentic prayer changes us, unmasks us, strips us, indicates where growth is needed. Authentic prayer never leads us to complacency, but needles us, makes us uneasy at times. It leads us to true self-knowledge, to true humility."     ~  St. Theresa of Avila Teresa of Avila speaks from experience. In the beginning of her religious life she was pretty frivolous and gossipy. Only when she took prayer seriously and looked at her life honestly did she begin to see how superficial she was. It became a thorn in her side and she began to make changes in her lifestyle. She eventually became a great reformer of the Carmelite order and a canonized saint. Prayer is supposed to disturb our complacency, to make us more self-aware, as well as more aware of others. If  we stay wrapped up in our little cocoons, it is not true prayer. There are many kinds ...

Cracked and broken pieces need not be discarded, but rather cemented or adhered together, creating something stronger, more artistically appealing with their unusual patterns, and reinforced fragments. Perhaps this Japanese art can teach us to embrace our damaged parts, patch up the shattered segments of our lives with a dose of forgiveness, an application of compassion, a touch of tenderness. Our wounds need not destroy us; they can make us tougher, more durable, filled with a beauty born of courageous struggle.

  I have always dreaded fasting during Lent. I like food and like to snack between meals. It takes real discipline to eat less and eliminate snacking. It does no good to think of the starving people around the world or offering it up for my sins. Of course, fasting is no longer as strenuous as it used to be. And when you're past 59, Catholics really don't have to fast. Fasting can be beneficial to both mind and body, experts tell us. It can cleanse the mind to think more clearly and cleanse the body from toxins to live more healthily. I try to concentrate on these positive aspects of refraining from food. It's hard to measure results, but I do believe the discipline is good for us. Most Westerners have gotten very flabby mentally and physically. The Internet does much of our thinking for us -- if we don't know something, we can just Google it. And fast food makes it easy to get a meal; people don't do much cooking anymore. We are used to the easy life. We rarel...

I know you are all busy people, but this is a request for comments on my blog. It is hard to write without knowing my audience and getting some feedback once in a while. If it is difficult to navigate a comment on my blog, I need to know that too. Thanks for any help you can give. I endured the taunts, the jeers when my husband hewed the wood for a gigantic boat. I did not know why it had to be so huge, that we would take two of every species, even snakes and spiders and lions. I was too busy readying food to last until the rain stopped. How could I foresee the stench, the piles of turds, long desperate days when all seemed lost? Noah, patient man, tried to keep the hoards of animals fed and calm but they preferred open spaces, not cramped quarters shared with former enemies. They stomped and stewed, stymied by their situation. Forty endless days and nights of deafening bellows, screeches mooing, shrieking, cockle-doodling before the waters...