Who Goes Through The Rowan Door?
When I was eight years old, my teacher, Mrs. Green, read to our class C.S. Lewis’s classic tale of adventure, love, faith, and redemption, The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. I was enthralled and immediately went on to read the entire seven-book series. It was only in the final book, The Last Battle, however, that I…
Read MoreDogs and Heaven and Alice McDermott
In her wonderful book about writing, What About the Baby? Alice McDermott tells us a story she read in an Irish magazine about a man who finds himself walking along a road with his childhood dog. The man realizes he’s dead, because of how long the dog’s been dead. How glad he is to see his…
Read MoreLessons on How a Democracy Becomes a Gilead
I was going to attempt to write a post this morning on my thoughts concerning the Supreme Court and Roe vs Wade, however, my friend, Professor Robin Bates from Sewanee University, has done the heavy lifting for me in this excellent essay that came over the transom this morning. I have his permission to share…
Read MoreA Visitor At Every Door
Social media is a strange place. Some days I recoil in horror at the level of either foolishness or cruelty. Other days I laugh at hilarious photos of dogs doing what dogs do, and bask in joy as my friends celebrate new babies, new books, weddings and travels to glorious places. I think what touches…
Read MoreTo Go Gently, Or Not? Thoughts on Impermanence
I have a dear friend, Mark, who may be one of the most compassionate, kind, and intelligent people I know. He is also very tall and absurdly handsome. (How he will guffaw if he reads that last bit!) He tells many interesting stories, and this is one of them: Once, back when he was a…
Read MoreMary Oliver, Brother Phap Dung, and Small White Dogs (My Dog Is Dying, Part III)
A NOTE TO READERS….. The title of this blog says almost everything. I will add a few things, though. This time is EXCRUCIATING. So much so that I will not be answering phone calls for the foreseeable future. Answering emails will be touch and go… and forgive me if you comment on this series of…
Read MoreMy Dog Is Dying (Part II)
A NOTE TO READERS….. The title of this blog says almost everything. I will add a few things, though. This time is EXCRUCIATING. So much so that I will not be answering phone calls for the foreseeable future. Answering emails will be touch and go… and forgive me if you comment on this series of…
Read MoreMy Dog Is Dying (Part I)
A NOTE TO READERS….. The title of this blog says almost everything. I will add a few things, though. This time is EXCRUCIATING. So much so that I will not be answering phone calls for the foreseeable future. Answering emails will be touch and go… and forgive me if you comment on this series of…
Read MoreA Time of Paradox
Horror. Despair. Fury. Incomprehension. Impatience. These are the emotions roiling through me on an unholy loop. I oscillate, like many of you do I suspect, from shock to fury to despair and back again. DO SOMETHING, my soul cries as the bombs rain down on children and women and men and animals. Putin, I shriek,…
Read MoreTea and Sympathy? Mercy #2
Recently I was asked to talked about EVEN SO with my friend Sr. Rita Woehkle at the Trenton Free Public Library. (You can click here to watch/listen. Sr. Rita says many wonderful things.) In talking about the book again, I found myself thinking about mercy in the context of the narrative. How Angela is shown…
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