Reflection Starter from Joseph Addison

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." - Joseph Addison

On Sharing Coffee, Church, and Community

"When it comes to coffee, I'm a late adopter. While my college fraternity brothers tossed back Herculean quantities during late-night study sessions, I didn't touch the stuff. As an army officer, while members of my platoon sucked down coffee with reckless abandon, I remained an outlier. When I managed political campaigns, and coffee was the jet fuel of marathon strategy sessions, I passed. At post-church coffee hour, while everyone drank coffee and critiqued the pastor’s sermon, I drank lemonade.

"Miraculously, I also endured a coffee-drinking wife, seminary, and one child without drinking coffee. The combination of two children under the age of 2 and full-time work in parish ministry, however, put me over the edge. And once I slipped down the rabbit hole of coffee consumption, a journey of discovery emerged that continues to unfold."

In a recent commentary, Rev. Tim Schenck (at St. Johns Episcopal Church, Hingham, MA) reflected on the blessing of sharing coffee stories and, in so doing, sharing something of ourselves in the process.

To access Fr. Schenck's complete post, please visit:

The Patriot Ledger: In Good Faith: Church, community and ... coffee (6 APR 19)

American Wetlands Month

May is being observed as American Wetlands Month, an observance designed to celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation’s ecological, economic, and social health. (Wetlands help improve water quality, increase water storage and supply, reduce flooding and provide critical habitat for plants, fish and wildlife.)

Background information:

US EPA: May Is American Wetlands Month: Celebrate! Learn! Explore!

Association of State Wetland Managers

Facebook: Association of State Wetland Managers

United States Fish and Wildlife Service:  National Wetlands Inventory

National Day of Prayer

Today, 2 May, is this year's National Day of Prayer, the 68th annual observance of this event. This year's theme is “Love One Another” and is based on John 13:34 ("Love one another. Just as I have loved you.").

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, and it is a day in which people of all faiths are invited to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress (Joint Resolution 382 on 17 April 1952), and signed into law by President Harry S Truman (Public Law 82-324; 66 Stat. 64 - 17 April 1952).

The National Day of Prayer is part of the nation's heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through the country's history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863. There have been 136 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting, and thanksgiving by the President of the United States from 1789 to 2010).

In 1988, the law was amended by Congress and signed by President Reagan to permanently set the day as the first Thursday of every May (Public Law 100-307). Each year since 1952, the President has signed a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.

In previous years, millions of people have united in prayer at thousands of events from coast to coast, and it looks like this will be true this year as well. Events are scheduled in each state (including at least fourteen in Rhode Island).

For more information about this observance, please visit:

National Day of Prayer

Facebook: National Day of Prayer

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the good tradespeople You place in our lives and for the many ways in which their work ministers to Your people.

Pope Francis Reminds Us that Satan Is Real

"Pope Francis Wednesday reminded those who think belief in the devil is antiquated or outdated that Satan really exists and that Jesus himself experienced his temptations and overcame them.

"'So began the public life of Jesus, with the temptation that comes from Satan. Satan was present,' the pope said May 1.

"'Many people say: 'But why talk about the devil, which is an ancient thing? The devil does not exist.' But look at what the Gospel teaches you,' Francis emphasized. 'Jesus confronted the devil, he was tempted by Satan. But Jesus rejects every temptation and comes out victorious.'"

A recent National Catholic Register article reported on Pope Francis' reminder on the reality of Satan.

To access the complete National Catholic Register report, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Satan is Real, Pope Francis Says (1 MAY 19)

Reflection Starter from Samuel Butler

"Every man’s work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself." -  Samuel Butler

David Mills on the Resurrection

"Dead people stay dead. Everyone knows that. Growing up among secular people, I dont think I ever heard anyone admit Jesus might have risen from the grave. No one said, 'You know, that was a long time ago. There seems to be some evidence for it. It's not impossible. So who knows?' No one was agnostic about Jesus rising from the dead. My secularist friends knew He didn't."

In a recent commentary, writer David Mills reflected on the Resurrection of Jesus.

To access Mr. Mill's complete post, please visit:

The Stream: Be Honest, Secularists, You Know He Might Have Risen (23 APR 19)

Saint Joseph the Worker

Today the Church celebrates Saint Joseph under the title of Saint Joseph the Worker - as I have noted previously, one of my favorite observances of the Church year. It is special to me because it underlines in a real way that when a person does his/her work, he/she is continuing God's work of creation and ministering to His people.

"Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ."- Colossians 3:23-24

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Prayer for the Spirit of Work (source unknown):

God our Father, Creator and Ruler of the universe, in every age you call us to use and develop our gifts for the good of others. With St. Joseph as our guide, help us to do the work you have asked and come to the rewards you have promised. Please grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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A good reflection on the feast of Joseph the Worker is by Deacon Keith Fournier (of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia). This reflection also includes thoughts from Pope John Paul II's "Gospel of Work' and some thoughts from Pope Benedict XVI's "Caritas in veritate". (Deacon Fournier is, among other attributes, a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a lawyer, and the founder of Catholic Way and Common Good.)

To read Deacon Fournier's reflection, visit:

Deacon Keith Fournier Reflection: Feast of St Joseph the Worker: Affirming the Dignity of All Work (30 APR 12)

For further reflection:

Pope Saint John Paul II's Encyclical on Human Work, promulgated 14 September 1981:

Pope John Paul II: "Laborem exercens" (on Human Work)

Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, "Charity in truth", promulgated 29 June 2009:

Pope Benedict XVI: "Caritas in veritate" (Charity in truth)

P.S. There is a shrine dedicated to Saint Joseph the Worker in Lowell, Massachusetts. Its web site may be visited here:

St. Joseph the Worker Shrine, Lowell, MA

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of the work You provide for each of us.

Glenn T. Stanton on the Status of Robust Christianity in the U.S.

"The stats are given as often and with as much confidence as they are wrong. The story goes that our nation is growing more secular with every passing day. Christianity is tanking, and atheists and generic non-believers mushrooming. The Daily Wire proclaimed that last week, with the headline, 'God Help Us; Atheism Becomes Largest Religion In U.S.' CNN just reported something similar: 'There Are Now as Many Americans Who Claim No Religion as There Are Evangelicals and Catholics.'

"It's not true. Not even close.

"If you ask anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to what's happening with religious faith in America, they will tell you with the confidence that the Nones (those reporting no particular faith) have grown by leaps and bounds, marking a growing secularization in America. This is not true either.

"Journalists who tell us they are endlessly suspicious and dig into the depths of a story to bring simple folks like us 'the TRUTH' have largely only done journalism by press release on this topic, and the falsehoods get repeated over and over again. But if one digs just a bit deeper into the larger body of research, it is unavoidably clear how incorrect most have gotten the story. . . ."

In a recent commentary, writer Glenn T. Stanton reflected on the status of "Robust Christianity" in the United States.

To access Mr. Stanton's complete essay, please visit:

The Federalist: No, Non-Believers Are Not Increasing In America (24 APR 19)

Reflection Starter from William Arthur Ward

"A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life." - William Arthur Ward