Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27 NABRE) As the Scripture narrative on John 14:27 puts it, Peace: the traditional Hebrew salutation Shalom, but Jesus’ “Shalom” is a gift of salvation. Do we not hunger for the Peace that God gives? Experiencing a peaceful state is such a comforting state it is hard to describe that peaceful sense of being. It is more than just be

Years ago my wife Patt and I became middle school catechists. How we got there is another story but as we embarked on this journey it became evident that there was much for us to learn. We started with a curriculum that gave us direction but just using a handbook was not going to be enough to be effective for those hungry young people we were engaging. We started to study Scripture and the Catechism for our own better understanding. We even started listening more to Chris

Where is our treasure? Do we invest it or is it buried, you know like in our mattress? Is our treasure working in our 401k or IRA? Is it being totally engaged in our jobs? Is it totally working for you? A few months after I graduated from high school my father received a promotion that required the family to move a certain distance away. At that time I had already registered at the local college, was dating a special person who would eventually be my wife and had a full-time

Have you ever used a magnifying glass and used the intensity of the sun to burn paper? I remember the first time I saw that I was blown away with the power of the sun through that glass. What’s more, it occurred to me the incredible power of magnification and I thought about its application to most any situation. Take for example the power of a pep rally. You take some fired up cheer leaders who lead a large group like a school gymnasium full of students and charge them up. W

Have you ever read about or even studied the effects of toxins?

How can we forget the greatness of our God?!”

Years ago I used to read a daily devotion that always included some scripture and reflection. It was a 31-day devotion with a different reflection for each day of the month. At the end of each month I would start over on the first of the month with the same scripture and reflection that I started with the month before. The same for the second day and the third day and so on through the rest of that month. Somehow those reflections always seemed anew to me. What I discove

We live in a country where free speech is a “right.” In our culture today many people think that speaking anything and everything that comes to mind is okay. It is their right! However, it is important to understand that with rights comes responsibilities. There are logical expressions communicated and then there are emotional expressions communicated. It is often the emotional expressions that get us into trouble but that is not to say that emotional expressions are wro

Recently I was at an Urgent Care facility in assistance of someone else. While sitting in the waiting room I observed a young boy and his father. It appeared the young boy was the one to be treated. Almost immediately I could see the young boy was mentally handicapped. It was quite evident that the father was a very patient parent. At times, the boy would make unhappy outbursts and occasionally was a bit difficult to control. The boy's behavior was something any parent w