By no means am I a political analyst, but my sense is that much of what happens in campaigns and debates between political candidates and their supporters involves at least a fair amount of hyperbole.  In other words, there is a selection of issues, many if not most of which are hot-button ones, and then there is an elaborate description that accompanies the issue, weighted in its telling by the prejudicial position of the speaker. …

There are times when, without warning or expectation, a single moment explodes into an intensity of experience that defies description. It’s a feeling of being overwhelmed by something so much greater than me, which seems to encompass all.  It has happened in nature, standing on a mountaintop, taking in all the mysterious and brilliant grandeur of the universe from the standpoint of a small insignificant point of reception – me. …

My early understanding of holiness was confined solely within images of pious stances like hands clasped in prayer and devotional behavior.   To be holy was to act obediently and to somehow coalesce with the bigger picture of the Church and its teachings. …

What does it mean to hope for something?  What does it mean to hope IN something?

There may be a nuanced distinction between hoping for something that you would like to happen in contrast with hoping in something that you believe and trust in. …

 I always thought that the three-legged race was such an interesting and indeed powerful exercise, not just for competition, but for building sensitivity, coordination, and relationship.  With one leg tied to another’s leg, two people have three limbs capable of ambulation that must be coordinated in order to move forward. …