Treacherous Brook

Three pieces of news heard just today. The iPad(R) is to blame for job loss The learned are saying that 'perhaps if we just let the air traffic controllers take little naps.....scheduled during their shifts.... The Cubs are having to give away tickets....(literally going for under a buck!) for their game tonight and it's still not a full house I think we just might be finished. I'll just turn in early tonight. Maybe it will look better in the morning. Doubtful. But, maybe. There was an unusually long line at confessions tonight.

To say I am disheartened about the budget 'talks' in Washington this past week would be an understatement. I'm not an economist. In truth, until computer financial programs came along....I wasn't even big on balancing my checkbook. What I do know is this: You cannot spend more than you make without coming to the end of the road at some point. As a Catholic Christian, I understand that God has something to say about being responsible for our portion of what He has provided. A couple of points here. First, these folks cannot not know what they are doing and, if I remember correctly, that is the definition of sin. You know what you are doing is wrong but you are hell-bent (excuse the pun) on proceeding no matter the outcome. The warning signs are all around. Second, most politicians from both parties are concerned about only one thing: re-election. Listening to President Obama's speech, I realized how bad this problem is. It is akin to handing over everyt

I have recently been taken in by all of the crude discourse and wrangling in Washington and throughout the country of late. Many decry all the 'hateful rhetoric' .... until they have something to 'spew' ... uh...say. How did we get here? I've been thinking of an experience I had years ago. Funny that now in mid-life yesterday can seem fuzzy...but certain things from the past become crystal clear. When my husband and I were first married, we were helping some friends move into their new place--a small house they would be renting from a doctor who owned the property. They had several friends and the parents of our friend's wife who we hardly knew at the time helping with the move. Shelly (not her real name) was telling us that the only space they could not use was some attic space that the doctor and his family used for storage. When she mentioned that, her mother headed upstairs to check things out. During the process of moving, I visited with this woman a

The last Christmas preparations were just about finished. It had been a fruitful time of waiting. But then, ten years makes for a long Advent. Traditionally, the Church encourages this Advent, this season of waiting and preparing for our Lord's coming at Christmas to prepare our hearts for His coming. The readings during this season draw us out of ourselves and ask us to look deeper, to make way for the Spirit of the Lord in the joyous season of Christmas. As I reflected on Christmas Eve of 2010, it seem almost impossible that ten years ago that very night, my siblings and I were with trying our best to ‘walk’ with our mother in her last comatose hours on this earth. Just remembering brings me right back to the events of that weekend. Christmas Eve has always been spent with my in-laws; Christmas Day with my family. That weekend was no different. But, on this particular night I was understandably just not able to celebrate with my husband's family as my mother lie in