09 March 2026

Three and A Half Men: "Everybody Needs A Best Friend"

It's time for some more barbershop harmony. Here is a presentation of "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" by Three and a Half Men:


 

New England Municipal Government News Headlines

Recent news stories related to municipal government in New England (and issues being faced on the local level) include these articles:

CT: Stonington to form new charter commission (The Westerly Sun)

ME: Beneath the ice on Rangeley Lake, New England police divers train for the worst (The Rangeley Highlander)

MA: Norton Public Library achieves full state certification after nearly 20 years (The Sun Chronicle)

NH: New Ipswich, Greenville, and Greenfield face increased ambulance costs for Peterborough mutual aid calls (Monadnock Ledger-Transcript)

RI: Portsmouth honors compact that started it all (Sakonnet Times)

VT: Vermont Supreme Court sides with Tunbridge in longstanding trails case (Valley News)

undefined

Background information:

Town of Stonington, CT

Norton, MA, Public Library

Town of Norton, MA

Town of Greenfield, NH

Town of Greenville, NH

Town of New Ipswich, NH

Town of Peterborough, NH

Town of Portsmouth, RI

Town of Tunbridge, VT

Vermont Supreme Court: 2026 VT 5 – No. 25-AP-24


Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the scent of spring in the air.

Bishop Robert Barron on St. Thomas Aquinas' Teachings and Our Time

"As I prayed before the tomb of [St. Thomas]Aquinas, I found myself ruminating on the importance for our own time of the one whom the church calls its 'common doctor.' What can this 13th century Dominican master teach us? First, Thomas Aquinas saw with utter clarity that since all truth comes from God, there can never be, finally, any conflict between the data of the sciences and the facts of revelation. In his own time, there were advocates of the so-called 'double truth theory,' which held that the  'truths' of philosophy and science were in one category and the 'truths' of the faith in another. On this interpretation, one could hold mutually exclusive positions as long as one remained cognizant that the opposing views were in separate departments of the mind. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, reflected the importance of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas as we face a number of issues in our time.

To access Bishop Barron's complete post, please visit:

The Pilot: Echoes: Bishop Robert Barron: America needs you, Thomas Aquinas (4 FEB 26)

Reflection Starter from Charles Kettering

"It is the 'follow through' that makes the great difference between ultimate success and failure, because it is so easy to stop." - Charles F. Kettering

08 March 2026

Olivia Lane: "Woman At The Well"

As we continue our Sunday celebration, I offer this version of Olivia Lane presenting "Woman At The Well":

 


Third Sunday of Lent

Today the Church celebrates the Third Sunday of Lent. The assigned readings are Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; and John 4:5-42. The Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 95 (Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9).

For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:

YouTube: 3rd Sunday of Lent: Psalm 95 - If Today You Hear His Voice [YEAR A] 

The Gospel reading is as follows:

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him,"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" - For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.- Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him 
and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob,  who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?"

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.' For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true."

The woman said to him, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand;  we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth."

The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one speaking with you."

At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?" They went out of the town and came to him.

Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another,  "Could someone have brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” 

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified,  "He told me everything I have done." When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 
and they said to the woman,  "We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."

Reflections related to these readings:

Community in Mission: Just A Little Talk With Jesus Makes it Right - A homily for the Third Sunday of Lent (7 MAR 26) 

Benedictine College: This Sunday, Jesus Meets Us at the Well To Give Us What We Are Missing (5 MAR 26)

Word on Fire: Thirsting for God (Cycle A * Lent * 3rd Week)

The Pilot: Echoes: Scott Hahn: Striking the rock (6 MAR 26)

The Pilot: Echoes: Father Joshua J. Whitfield: Scripture Reflection for March 8, 2026, Third Sunday in Lent (4 MAR 26) 

The Pilot: Echoes: Archbishop Richard G. Henning: Grumbling (6 MAR 26) 

The Quiet Corner: Water was a witness to creation, continues to play a vital role in religious history (5 MAR 26) 


Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the graces associated with the virtue of long-suffering.

Fr. Michael Rennier on Lent and the Virtue of Long-suffering

"In the modern world, slowing down is not considered a virtue. If anything, we're speeding up. We want everything faster, easier, and more conveniently. Everything slow and inefficient must be ruthlessly eliminated.

"The great speeding-up has been happening for a while, but it seems to be picking up steam in recent years. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Father Michael Rennier reflected on the virtues of patience and long-suffering and on long-suffering's relationship with Lent.

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

Aleteia: Fr. Michael Rennier: Shaped for greatness by a forgotten virtue: long-suffering (22 FEB 26)


Reflection Starter from Pope Leo XIV

"Jesus is God's response to our thirst. The encounter with him stirs in the depths of each person 'a spring of water gushing up to eternal life' (Jn 4:14). How many people in the entire world are searching even today for this spiritual spring!- Pope Leo XIV

07 March 2026

Zoltán Mága: "Tico-Tico"

As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this version of Zoltán Mága presenting "Tico-Tico":


 

Birthday Blessings, Barb!!!

Birthday greetings to my sister Barbara, whose birthday is today!!! May this day, and each day of the upcoming year, be filled with the Lord's choicest blessings!!!