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What do you say to the dying?
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” – I John 3:2 What do you say to the dying? A friend of mine asked me something along…
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More of the Same
How would you feel if I told you that, as you grow older, you’ll probably become a more concentrated version of the person you are now? Like, you, only more so? This isn’t a data-driven theory, just an observation. It seems like, for the most part, the people I have known for a long time…
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T-Shirts
“Really, you should throw free t-shirts into the crowd for 40 minutes, and only stop for brief interludes of basketball.” — Al My first “real” job was as the director of media relations for the Atlanta Glory of the startup (and short-lived) American Basketball League, which showcased many of the world’s finest professional women’s basketball…
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He Gets Us
Luke 16:25-26 – “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side…
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Why should I write?
Why do I write? So, the shortest of answers is that intermittent reinforcement is a helluva drug. I write stuff, and I post it on Facebook, and some people click the like button, a few people write something nice, and, every once in a while, I bump into someone at a conference or somewhere who…
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Poor Paul
Poor Paul. This was my thought, briefly, when I realized at the start of Mass what I thought was about to happen. Once every three years, the Church’s liturgical cycle of readings cues up a complete turkey of a reading that I have seldom heard acknowledged, much less preached on, from the pulpit. In I…
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In the desert
I was reflecting this week on what a blessing my friends who are agnostic or atheist are. I’ll get to that in a minute. Here’s something I learned last week that was pretty interesting. The opening verses of the Gospel of Mark quote Isaiah 40: “A voice crying out in the desert: / Prepare the…
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Christmas Crowds
I don’t like big crowds. In big crowds, people are annoying, self-absorbed, and pushy. And by “people,” of course, I mean me. I am at my worst in the midst of a big mass of disorganized humanity. Happy holidays. Recently, I had a chance to step outside of such a crowd. I was waiting for…
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God is like my mom at Thanksgiving
God is like my mom at Thanksgiving. I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot over the last few days. With Thanksgiving approaching, we are very excited about our college kid coming home for a few days, and it has reminded me of all the Thanksgiving trips home we made to Jacksonville for family dinners…