From the monthly archives:

February 2006

New fervor among young Italian Catholics

2/28/2006 · View Comments

in quick take

New fervor among young Italian Catholics: “I experimented with everything you can experiment with to find happiness. Now that I’ve left everything, I’ve found everything.” So says a 31-year-old Italian woman who took her final vows to become a cloistered nun. Sounds remarkably like Matthew 16:25: “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (from csmonitor.com)

Tagged as: catholicism

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Lord, catch me off guard today

2/28/2006 · View Comments

in meditations

Lord, catch me off guard today.
Surprise me with some moment of beauty or pain
So that at least for the moment
I may be startled into seeing that you are here in all your splendor,
Always and everywhere,
Barely hidden,
Beneath,
Beyond,
Within this life I breathe.
–Frederick Buechner

Tagged as: poetry

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prepared for relationship

February 27, 2006

I read the second piece in Ratzinger’s God Is Near Us; this one is called “God’s Yes and His Love.” I’ve not had time to process a coherent, complete response to it, so in the meantime, I’m simply going to present some passages that stood out to me:

On Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (John 13):

In this scene, the evangelist sums up, as it were, the whole of Jesus’ message, his life, and his Passion…

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juggling for Jesus

February 26, 2006

We went to the Upward basketball celebration tonight; Isaac, our first-grader, played a team sport for the first time and loved it. He told me yesterday, after his last game (in which he made his first basket!), that he would play Upward basketball every year until he graduates from high school and goes to college to become a zoo keeper. Zack played Upward basketball and soccer several years ago, and Anna is looking forward to serving as a cheerleader when she is old enough.…

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Dilbert: “work-life balance”

February 24, 2006

Today’s Dilbert offers a wonderful picture of the struggle to find balance. Dogbert offers a list of 11 priorities and tells his seminar participants that they can do only 3; work and holidays are two, and they can choose the remaining one.

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In Vietnam, Christianity gains quietly

February 21, 2006

In Vietnam, Christianity gains quietly: “Catholics are enjoying greater freedom in Vietnam. Some say the country’s economic liberalization is helping by opening the country to a free flow of ideas and information that is part and parcel of a modernized society. ‘Integration into the world means opportunities for dialogue with each other…’ ” (from the Christian Science Monitor)

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God’s work-rest rhythm

February 21, 2006

Benny Tabalujan makes a compelling argument for honoring the sabbath in "Re-discovering Sabbath" in the most recent issue of Regent Business Review. Tabalujan explains that sabbath is not so much about resting as reflecting:

God used the sabbath to look over, reflect upon, enjoy and celebrate the work he performed. It follows that if work is about results, then sabbath is about reflection; if work is preoccupied with mission, then sabbath delves into meaning.…

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