The snow has begun. It is expected to last 18 hours, piling nine inches high and crippling weekend plans. The streets are emptying, the collective dash to the grocery store completed.
But here in our cul-de-sac, the party is about to begin.
I am a goal-setter. I love the way hope unfolds on the pages of a new planner at the beginning of a new year. Everything seems possible. At least it did. For years and years, I’d stubbornly set goals and optimistically expect to achieve them. Many times, I did. I dreamed up big projects and then pushed through to see them to completion. I quantified fitness and then pushed to check all the boxes. I started the year striving and I kept striving.
These cold mid-winter days are an excellent time to focus on home and the many systems that make life possible: personal finances, home improvement, decluttering, deep cleaning, meal planning, exercise, new activities and schedules. In other words, now is a good time to focus on your “household economy,” learning to use our gifts to care for one another’s basic needs.
The Sunday of the Word of God, observed Jan. 26 this year, is a celebration of the constant dialogue between the Lord and his people.
They walked together to the altar — a tiny boy, just learning to walk and still unsteady, and his mother who held tightly to his hand as he tried to run.
Unrealistic. That, no doubt, was the not uncommon reaction to Pope Francis’s November plea for nuclear disarmament, including an end to nuclear deterrence.
Faith matters in the lives of so many people — including those with disabilities and their families.
Having completed his 40-day fast in the desert and upon hearing of St. John the Baptist’s arrest, Our Lord entered Galilee to begin his public ministry.
I get my picture taken a lot. I'm not particularly photogenic, but as president of The Catholic University of America, people expect me to be in the frame for a lot of occasions, and it would be rude for me to refuse.
An end to the shadows
This Sunday happens to coincide with one of the more vibrant celebrations of the liturgical year, the feast of the Presentation, also known as Candlemas.