11 November 2018
Reflection Starter from Pope Francis
"Praying means knocking at the door of a friend. God is our friend." - Pope Francis
10 November 2018
"We Will Rock You / Wake Me Up"
As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this version of "We Will Rock You / Wake Me Up" from the 2016 Rockset Sankt Galler Tattoo, with Dougie McCance (Red Hot Chilli
Pipers) on bagpipe; World Champion drum major Paula Braiden (Monahan) and
her PB-Girls, Jelle Boesveld (The Real Jigs) on piano, synth, and
basskeytar; Mauri Oliver (The Real Jigs) on guitar; and Toni McVey on
(drums):
On Spiders as Housemates
"Some people believe author E.B. White may have based the title character in the classic children's book, Charlotte's Web, on a species of orb spiders living in his Maine barn.
"Members of the family Araneidae, orb
spiders are also called 'writing' or 'scribbling' spiders due to their
behavior of spinning decorations into their webs.
"'That’s exactly what Charlotte did,' said Kathy Murray, entomologist
with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 'No
one knows if [E.B. White] actually based her on spiders in his barn,
but he did live in Maine and he'd have had orb spiders in that barn.'"
A recent Bangor Daily News article offered an overview of orb spiders (and spiders in general) and their webs.
To access the complete Bangor Daily News report, please visit:
Pastor Brett Reitenbach on the Blessings of Forgiveness
"Most of humanity is well-acquainted with wrongs being committed, both
what they've experienced themselves and have witnessed regarding others.
Many of those who wrong others never take the step or even recognize
the need to apologize to those who’ve been hurt. Though not the same as
reconciliation or trust, forgiveness makes those at least possible if
one is truly sorry for what they have done. Forgiveness means 'the
pardon of an offense or crime.'
"Forgiveness can result in great blessings . . ."
In a recent commentary, Rev. Greenfield Baptist Church, Greenfield, MA, reflected on some of the blessings that are the fruit of forgiveness.
To access Pastor
"Forgiveness can result in great blessings . . ."
In a recent commentary, Rev. Greenfield Baptist Church, Greenfield, MA, reflected on some of the blessings that are the fruit of forgiveness.
To access Pastor
Dick Flavin on Baseball Caps
"I got to thinking about baseball caps the other night. That'll give you
an idea of what an exciting life I lead -- I spend my evenings thinking
about baseball caps.
"I was watching a playoff game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers (the Red Sox and the Astros were off) and the Brewers were wearing caps with an old team logo from 40 years ago on them -- the one that shows a baseball in a glove. I'll never forget the eureka moment that I had years ago when I suddenly realized that the logo was not just a baseball in a glove, but that the fingers on the glove formed the letter 'M' and the the thumb and the leather around the ball was a lowercase "b". It wasn't just a baseball in a glove after all; it was a Milwaukee Brewers' baseball in a glove. Ever since then I've thought it was the coolest logo in all sports. I'll never understand why the Brewers changed it."
In a recent commentary, writer Dick Flavin reflected on the baseball caps and their role.
To access Mr. Flavin's complete essay, please visit:
Boston Pilot: Echoes: Dick Flavin: Hats off to baseball caps (2 NOV 18)
"I was watching a playoff game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers (the Red Sox and the Astros were off) and the Brewers were wearing caps with an old team logo from 40 years ago on them -- the one that shows a baseball in a glove. I'll never forget the eureka moment that I had years ago when I suddenly realized that the logo was not just a baseball in a glove, but that the fingers on the glove formed the letter 'M' and the the thumb and the leather around the ball was a lowercase "b". It wasn't just a baseball in a glove after all; it was a Milwaukee Brewers' baseball in a glove. Ever since then I've thought it was the coolest logo in all sports. I'll never understand why the Brewers changed it."
In a recent commentary, writer Dick Flavin reflected on the baseball caps and their role.
To access Mr. Flavin's complete essay, please visit:
Boston Pilot: Echoes: Dick Flavin: Hats off to baseball caps (2 NOV 18)
Fr. Longenecker on Jesus Christ, Victim and Victor
"I've been thinking increasingly about the troubles our church is
facing, the division and strife in our country and world, the crisis in
the family and the crisis of faith, and it has been impressed on my
heart and mind that at the heart of the problems in the church is a lack
of the very heart of the faith - the real mission of Jesus Christ in the
world.
"On the one hand we have the modernist Christians who spend all their time working at peace and justice issues, fighting for gender equality, gay rights, environmental issues or whatever…
"On the other hand we have the conservative Christians who spend all their time fighting the liberal Christians, trying to hold the fort and hold the faith, trying to fight their own culture wars issues…defense of marriage, abortion, immorality…
"Everybody running around fighting with one another and all of them trying to make the world a better place.
"In the meantime the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ stands neglected on a lonely hillside."
In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Greenville, SC) reflected on the importance of our world receiving a "new proclamation of the cross of Jesus Christ and why his death and resurrection matter to ordinary men and women."
To access Fr. Longenecker's complete post, please visit:
Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author: Jesus Christ - Victim and Victor (9 NOV 18)
"On the one hand we have the modernist Christians who spend all their time working at peace and justice issues, fighting for gender equality, gay rights, environmental issues or whatever…
"On the other hand we have the conservative Christians who spend all their time fighting the liberal Christians, trying to hold the fort and hold the faith, trying to fight their own culture wars issues…defense of marriage, abortion, immorality…
"Everybody running around fighting with one another and all of them trying to make the world a better place.
"In the meantime the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ stands neglected on a lonely hillside."
In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Greenville, SC) reflected on the importance of our world receiving a "new proclamation of the cross of Jesus Christ and why his death and resurrection matter to ordinary men and women."
To access Fr. Longenecker's complete post, please visit:
Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author: Jesus Christ - Victim and Victor (9 NOV 18)
Reflection Starter from Luke
"The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy
in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is
also dishonest in great ones." - Luke 16:10
09 November 2018
Catholic Relief Services Changes Lives
Catholic Relief Services turns 75 this year, and The Christophers would like to express our gratitude for the aid they consistently bring to those in desperate circumstances around the globe. Christ said, "For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me. . . ." (Matthew 25: 35-36). The work of CRS reminds us all of the missionary spirit Christ calls us to live out in service to those in need.
Catholic Relief Services began in 1943 in response to the refugee crisis of World War II. CRS workers provided food, clothing, and housing to those who had been displaced, sometimes leading people on long journeys to new countries and safety. As a child in 1943, Julek Plowy was one of many Polish people rescued from a Siberian death camp. Plowy's family then joined other refugees in making a long trek south to Persia. When CRS learned of their plight, they led the family on another long journey across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to a CRS community in Mexico.
An EWTN segment celebrating the 75th anniversary of Catholic Relief Services shows an elderly Julek Plowy returning to the CRS community in Mexico where he and his family relocated many years ago. Plowy drops to his knees at one point, overwhelmed with emotion. Asked to recall his arrival as a boy in Mexico, Plowy says, "We didn't know what we were facing, didn't know whether the people would welcome us or it was another internment camp." Recalling the ordeal they had already been through, Plowy says, "We saw our friends and neighbors and family die . . . so you build a hatred within you, not wanting to, but you do that. This provided hope," he says of the transforming effect of the CRS community.
With his wife by his side, Plowy walks the grounds of his former home, which now serves as a home for at-risk Mexican youth. He recalls running around the grounds of the facility in the same way the young people do today, and it brings to mind for him the many displaced youth of our time from war-torn areas around the globe. Plowy says, "History repeats itself in many different ways for evil reasons, and we don't learn. So what can we do to learn? It starts with faith and the love of God."
Plowy and his family eventually moved to the United States. He attended Catholic schools, became a Marine, and later went on to have a successful career in business. He sees his own experience with CRS as a model for reaching out to others in need.
Bishop Alphonso Miranda, Secretary General of the Mexican Bishops Conference, joins Plowy at one point and reflects on the vital nature of the CRS model in bringing peace and prosperity to the world, saying, "If we don't think like brothers, countries and humankind won't succeed."
Catholic Relief Services continues to change people's lives through their outreach to those who are suffering around the globe, such as the devastating flooding that recently took place in India. They consistently answer Christ's call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick. What a profound witness CRS provides of the fruits of the Catholic faith in our time. May they enjoy another 75 years and continue to model for us all what it truly means to be a follower of Christ.
This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column by Father Ed Dougherty, M.M., The Christophers' Board of Directors ; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.
Background information:
The Christophers
Catholic Relief Services began in 1943 in response to the refugee crisis of World War II. CRS workers provided food, clothing, and housing to those who had been displaced, sometimes leading people on long journeys to new countries and safety. As a child in 1943, Julek Plowy was one of many Polish people rescued from a Siberian death camp. Plowy's family then joined other refugees in making a long trek south to Persia. When CRS learned of their plight, they led the family on another long journey across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to a CRS community in Mexico.
An EWTN segment celebrating the 75th anniversary of Catholic Relief Services shows an elderly Julek Plowy returning to the CRS community in Mexico where he and his family relocated many years ago. Plowy drops to his knees at one point, overwhelmed with emotion. Asked to recall his arrival as a boy in Mexico, Plowy says, "We didn't know what we were facing, didn't know whether the people would welcome us or it was another internment camp." Recalling the ordeal they had already been through, Plowy says, "We saw our friends and neighbors and family die . . . so you build a hatred within you, not wanting to, but you do that. This provided hope," he says of the transforming effect of the CRS community.
With his wife by his side, Plowy walks the grounds of his former home, which now serves as a home for at-risk Mexican youth. He recalls running around the grounds of the facility in the same way the young people do today, and it brings to mind for him the many displaced youth of our time from war-torn areas around the globe. Plowy says, "History repeats itself in many different ways for evil reasons, and we don't learn. So what can we do to learn? It starts with faith and the love of God."
Plowy and his family eventually moved to the United States. He attended Catholic schools, became a Marine, and later went on to have a successful career in business. He sees his own experience with CRS as a model for reaching out to others in need.
Bishop Alphonso Miranda, Secretary General of the Mexican Bishops Conference, joins Plowy at one point and reflects on the vital nature of the CRS model in bringing peace and prosperity to the world, saying, "If we don't think like brothers, countries and humankind won't succeed."
Catholic Relief Services continues to change people's lives through their outreach to those who are suffering around the globe, such as the devastating flooding that recently took place in India. They consistently answer Christ's call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick. What a profound witness CRS provides of the fruits of the Catholic faith in our time. May they enjoy another 75 years and continue to model for us all what it truly means to be a follower of Christ.
This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column by Father Ed Dougherty, M.M., The Christophers' Board of Directors ; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.
Background information:
The Christophers
Reflection Starter from Charles Dickens
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." - Charles Dickens
08 November 2018
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