Spiritual Director

Two parades in one week! Friday evening last I attended the evening Christmas parade in one city where I work and had a wonderful time. A local funeral home had set up tents with warmers and we served hot cocoa and cookies to the crowd on behalf of the hospital. There were many volunteers who made it all possible! Yesterday Crawfordsville held their annual Christmas parade in the afternoon. We were blessed with a gorgeous...

It was a big mistake. I won’t do this one again! I don’t know what I was thinking stopping into my local Wal-Mart Thanksgiving late afternoon. I had returned from a wonderful day with my family in Indianapolis and just wanted to run in for a few things. I should have known something was up when I realized the local grocery stores were closed, or, in one case, closed at4 p.m. There were lines, and...

“Betty” called me all in a tizzy. She is my neighbor and is in ever failing health, as a widow she lives alone. She seemed all upset and urgency in her voice and I quickly asked if she was okay. She said she was fine, but wanted me to come over and change her garage light bulb! She needs that to be able to see in her garage, she reminded me (she has no car...

Every year at this time of year I can hear his voice. No, I am not talking about the Lord necessarily, but about Woody. He was a buddy during my college days at IU. Every year, at this time of year, he would start and not stop. Over and over again he said it, over and over again he got other people to say it. Over and over all through the month of November, Woody...

Chaos! Defined in the dictionary as “state of confusion or disorder,” seems to describe life, doesn’t it? Our calendars are full, we are busy, and stress is part of our lives. The Holidays are upon us as my satellite radio station begin offering Christmas music on one of the channels! For my birthday last week my daughter got me a bottle of that aromatherapy called “stress relief.” It is one of those pleasant odors that...

The World Series just ended and no offense to baseball fans, but thank God. The “boys of summer” playing through Halloween doesn’t seem right somehow. I was thinking of the all the positions on a team and how important they are to work together. The coaches direct the players often using signals from the dugout. The catcher and pitcher coordinate the kind of pitch to the batter is going to get. And, depending on that...

The colorful “show” of beautiful trees is ending, so says the weather man. Here in central Indiana we will be getting wind and rain the next couple days and the leaves will come down. It makes me sad because I have loved the “show” and have enjoyed the bright colors of the trees, bushes and even some shrubs. Sometimes it just takes my breath away, they are so beautiful. Yesterday I went walking around the...

Good Day! Yesterday Darilicous ice cream store closed for the winter! It’s a sad day in my neighborhood (Crawfordsville, IN). They are a local store located conveniently near me with a park next door for kids to play. Many times as I walk the neighborhood, I would listen to the children play, notice the soccer or baseball team crowded around the store and smile. I think relaxing at a park and having ice cream is...

So today is Columbus Day….other than no mail and no banking I probably won’t give it much thought! I did read once that Christopher Columbus was not a very nice guy. I did read once that there is controversy on whether or not he really did discover America and/or prove the earth was flat. I remember, randomly, 1492 the day Columbus sailed the ocean blue! I remember the great trivia question of the names of...

Every weekend I serve on team there is always a “God moment”, a very special time in the weekend where something is done, said, felt, sung, and so on. One year it was my taking the golf cart and chasing geese (kidding, but I did do that), another year it was something from a rollo, another time it was the huge weight a man left in the chapel after he confessed his sins. You get...

The Pope has left the country! I really enjoyed listening to him last week, watching him in parades, blessing children, leading Mass, and speaking/preaching. I felt like he brought God up front and center for our country. Those of us who work in Catholic healthcare appreciate his great leadership, his urging to care for the poor and the sick, and all of God’s people. We all saw the images on TV as he stopped his...

Hi Friends: This came to me on Facebook yesterday in my news feed and I share it with you! It’s one of those cartoons that makes you think as you look at it and ponder the deeper meaning. In this case, it’s about the priority of God and worship in your life. It is a picture of a young man in football uniform telling his coach he can’t make the game Sunday morning because he...