“I concluded that God didn’t send these tests, being human did. No one gets out of this life without having to pass or fail lessons that come upon us as we grow, learn, age, and experience what life has to offer.”
“I think about Good Friday, and I thought to myself that this is a cross Notre Dame was bearing at that moment in time. This was their Golgotha that they must endure, just as Christ had to suffer the cross as the women and the beloved disciple watched helplessly.”
“I think this Lazarus Saturday I’m going to be standing in front of the tomb of dear friends, at least mentally. There are so many that I wish Jesus would come and tell to come forth, even for just a day. I miss them just as Mary and Martha had yearned for their brother Lazarus.”
“Everybody is familiar with scars of one form or another. There are different kinds, some of them grossly deforming, some very slight. All of them represent some event in the lives of those who bear them that was traumatic, painful, and debilitating, even if for a short time.”
“Jesus was not trying to teach math, although the disciples do get credit for remembering how many baskets of leftovers came at each feeding. They remembered the facts but not necessarily the lesson behind them. A literal reading the Bible can give us what we believe are the facts, but unless we look deeper, we often miss the lessons Jesus wanted us to learn…”
“One of the things that God had intended from the outset was that humankind would be close to God, to cling, to be not just servants of God but intimate companions.”
“God is not always going to tell us when the weather is going to be absolutely monstrous. The weather forecasters still can’t be one hundred percent accurate either, despite the knowledge they have of weather and weather patterns, signs and signals from satellites, and other types of monitoring equipment.”
“The world has many sacred places: Stonehenge, Iona, Mecca, the Ganges River, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and many other places around the world where people gather to worship and to touch the spirituality of the site. The important thing is that God is greater than any thing or any place, and can be worshiped either by our physical presence in a church or in spirit, which can take place anywhere.”
“There have been times in my life when I have been or felt pulled to do one thing or another, some of which turned out to be excellent things and some of them which turned out to be disasters.”
“Psalm 148 is one of my favorites and is one that both begins and ends with the word “Hallelujah!” with an exclamation point. It’s meant to be emphasized and to be shouted joyfully, not mumbled or glossed over.”