As he laid in bed one evening, my father felt a strange lump in his abdominal area. I don’t know how long he was aware of that mass before he called a doctor, but it is safe to say that he considered the tumor advanced given that he could detect it from external touch.
A young man I was on a retreat with once told this story of prayer: “I was so angry at God because I had asked and asked him to help me stop doing drugs. And then before long I was getting high again.
What a beautiful image of God we are given in today’s readings: merciful, compassionate, generous, forgiving, sacrificing for our sakes, willing to listen to our pleas endlessly, able to answer our prayers even before we ask.
Just before my daughter Hannah graduated eighth grade, the school hosted a dance for students and parents. The graduates-to-be were honored for their unique achievements. Then they were gathered together for a group photo.
A few years ago, my wife and I added a new routine to our preparations for family parties that we host. It’s made a world of difference.
Though I readily empathize with Mary’s poor, beleaguered sister, Martha, I think we do the gospel a disservice when we pass her off as a fussbudget hostess whom Jesus gives a little set down. Martha’s anxiety goes much deeper than that.
“We had no time to grab anything. The water was rising and the current was already in the park. There were even some who had to leave without their pets. It was grab yourself and get.”
Late for an important meeting, I was running for a bus when I tripped and skid headlong on the sidewalk. I hopped back on my feet and caught up with the bus, huffing and puffing and embarrassed.
In the era before cell phones, a young professional woman was driving home late one night when she spotted a group of teenage boys all huddled together in a vacant lot just off a fairly deserted street.
Time snuck up on us. My mother grew older. She needed help more and more with holidays and other celebrations. She could no longer prepared all the food in fine Italian style all by herself.