Inspired by Scholastica

I just read a story that gave me a whole perspective on perseverance. It told of a mountain climbing experience that seems almost unbelievable. An expedition of glacier experts set out to try to find a camera bag left behind 85 years ago by Bradford Washburn, a world famous scientist and photographer, who had to abandon it when his life was endangered on the mountain. He has since died, but a group of experienced explorers decided to see if they could find it using new scientific methods to trace movements of glaciers.  The members of the expedition knew the camera had valuable photographs that would aid in this highly exclusive science. Dora Medezyka, a glacier specialist who knew how to trace the movement of glaciers, had pinpointed the area where Washburn had left the bag. At first, they were disappointed and were ready to leave, but Medezyka searched her data once more and was able to locate the bag frozen under thick ice. Miraculously, the contents were still usable. Most of u...

Autumn is a time to contemplate nature. The brilliant hues of trees are especially enthralling. There are a number of trees on our campus that make me catch my breath in awe. I know trees are more glorious in Vermont or New Hampshire, but Kansas has its own special loveliness. One maple tree behind St. Cecilia's is always so majestic, shining in the sunlight. I look forward to seeing it every year. It makes me feel the all-embracing warmth of  God's love. I can imagine God's paintbrush adding a touch of gold here, some orange there, a tinge of scarlet in between. The Great Artist makes trees come to full stature and glory. Every season has its beauty, but autumn seems to be especially enticing. Spending time with nature often inspires prayer. Who but God could decorate our world with such magnificence?   Of course, there is a time for splendor and a time for leaves to dry up and fall, just as there is a time for us to shine and a time for us to let go of our life on earth...

“I find ecstasy in living. Living is enough for me.”   - Emily Dickinson   We generally think of the poet Emily Dickinson as a recluse, a woman who did not socialize with others. Yet the quote above seems to indicate that she lived a vibrant life. To find ecstasy in living is quite a remarkable statement. To find wonder and joy in life one has to really be aware, to be ebullient. She once wrote that she felt like she was “struck by lightning every day.” Many of us go about like dead people walking. We fail to really see the world around us, to hear the sounds of leaves, of bees sucking sweetness from flowers, of birds twittering in trees. We are rarely jarred by the surprises in our paths, of the uniqueness of the people around us. Although Emily rarely left her house, her images are vibrant with life. Dickinson considered herself a poet of liberty and “the voice of America.” Born in 1830, she was anti-slavery and an advocate of freedom for women. Although she lived during the...

When  I was growing up, I heard about seeking God, searching for him, desiring him, praying that he would reveal himself to me. I often felt that I was groping in the darkness for some sign that he was really present.  St. Paul assures us: "You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within -- the Spirit you have received from God." (1 Cor. 19)  If God is within us, we need look no further. Pope Francis, in a recent Apostolic Letter, reminds us, "Before our response to his invitation --well before! -- there is his desire for us."  So long before we searched for God, he was seeking each one of us. He doesn't care if we are losers, criminals, uneducated, depressed, lame, sick, elderly, gay, Black or white - he wants to be with us. Remember the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who climbed a tree in order to see Jesus passing by in a huge crowd? It was Jesus who saw him in the tree and told him to come down, so they could share a meal t...

Cool crisp air fills my nostrils mixed with the scent of grape vines and sunflowers, a hint of yellow in the trees. Nothing remains the same as fall creeps in.   People too look more jaunty as they step into cooler places enveloped in a bit of sunshine.   There’s a calmness in the air this early October morning, an expectant hush among faded petals and tawny-tinged grass.   This is just the beginning, we know, there’s always something new to surprise us as seasons change.   Don’t miss the crunchiness, smells, and tapestry as summer fades into a wondrous splash of color.    

For those of us dealing with aging, we need to ask ourselves if we like the person we have come to be. If not, we might want to make some late life changes. Have we become cranky? Maybe we need to find ways to be more even-tempered and peaceful. Have we become selfish? Maybe we need to work on being more generous and thoughtful. Are we self-centered? Perhaps we ought to work on being more other-centered.  This aging business makes us more transparent. We see our faults more clearly and may realize we don't like some of our weaknesses. In the past, we could gloss over our deficiencies because we were busy with our careers and families and hobbies. Now, we are limited in the things we can do, and some of our loved ones may have died, so we have more time for some introspection. We don't want to be full of regret and self-condemnation, but knowing we will soon meet our God makes us want to be a better person. We realize there is much room for improvement, and we have only a short ...

We generally think of the 12 apostles as Jesus’ regular followers, but there were also women. We know of Mary Magdalen, Martha, Mary Salome, the Samaritan woman, the woman cured of a hemorrhage, and the Canaanite woman. I’m sure there were more women in their company, who were never counted. Who else would prepare the meals for the Twelve? Who else would help keep the children quiet? Who else would wash the dishes? Women were not considered equal or important in that period of Jewish history. We know that when Jesus worked the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the crowd was estimated at 5,000, not counting women and children. Yet, Jesus was always present to women and acknowledged them. It is evident in many of the stories in the New Testament. One example is the woman with the hemorrhage who merely touched the hem of his garment. He did not ignore her, but asked who touched him? He also cured the daughter of the centurion, the mother-in-law of Peter, the Samaritan woman, and Mary Magd...