Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nine years ago, as of yesterday, I received the Sacrament of Confirmation.  Some pictures from that night popped up in my facebook memories and caused me to think about the sacrament.  As I look back and reflect on the years since, I recognize just how significant and important that special evening was and how muchContinue reading “The Mission We’ve Been Given”

Who doesn’t love babies?  So small, precious, innocent, and helpless, it is so easy to love them.  Babies cannot do anything for us or for themselves.  They don’t have to do anything to gain our love.  We don’t love them because of what they do or don’t do, we love them simply because of whoContinue reading “The Greatest Gift”

This time of the year is the busiest time for so many people.  From Christmas parties, baking, shopping, decorating, and everything else this season brings, people are constantly going places and partaking in endless activities.  In all these activities and events that we can fill our time with, there is a deep void within usContinue reading “Filling the Empty Spaces”

Back in July, I participated in something called the PIT count.  PIT stands for “Point-in-Time” and it is a count of both sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night.  HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) requires that this count be done every January, but Wisconsin also does it in July inContinue reading “Encountering Christ on the Streets”

A few days ago, I was reading an article about the physical effects of gratitude.  Among some of the many benefits of the practice of gratitude are lower levels of stress, lower blood pressure, improved immune function, and an increase in sleep quality.  At first, it seemed kind of crazy to me that something asContinue reading “Hearts Full of Gratitude”

The summer before my sophomore year of college, I started experiencing a health issue.  Without going into too much detail, I will just say that it involved a lot of blood and a bit of discomfort.  After just a few doctor visits and different tests taken and not yet having a diagnosis, I continued googlingContinue reading “Surrendering All”

During the homily at mass last Wednesday, the priest said something along the lines of “it is through the cross that we can move forward.”  This profound statement reminded me of a time that God revealed this truth to me.  Right at the beginning of my dad’s funeral mass, as my siblings and I stoodContinue reading “The Only Way Forward”

In the past two weeks, there has been a lot of celebrating in my family.  My sister Abbey had a beautiful wedding mass and a great afternoon and evening to celebrate her marriage.  Then, my sister Sarah had her baby shower, where we celebrated the gift of new life, with her baby expected to arriveContinue reading “Back to Normal Life”

There’s an old country song by singer Johnny Lee called “Lookin’ for Love”.  While the song details the singer’s experience of looking for authentic love in his life, there is a line in the song that I think we could all relate to on a more general level.  The line in the chorus, “I wasContinue reading “The Right Place”

If you spent any time outside this past weekend, you’ve probably noticed that more and more leaves have already begun to change, revealing beautiful new colors that we all look forward to seeing every fall.  The way that the leaves on trees change is the chlorophyll breaks down, making the green fade and allowing theContinue reading “Like the Changing Leaves”