Chanting Down Babylon

When G.K. Chesterton was asked by the London Times to enter an essay contest to answer the question, “What is wrong with the world?” he responded simply,

“Dear Sirs; I am.”

I am.  I am?  On January 26th my wife and I celebrated 13 years of marriage, on April 26th I’ll have been on this Earth 37 years, and on July 26th I’ll have been the Director of St. John’s Camp Programs for 16 years.  Much has happened in all of those years, and most of all, I’d say more than anything else, I remember the loves and losses that I’ve experienced in my short time here on Planet Earth.  Love and loss.  These are the things that often define us as human beings, or at the very least go into defining who it is that we are as persons and how we relate to others, and for each one of us fallen ones, these loves and losses are very personal and very different.  As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says,

“Until we have accepted, recognized, and loved what is broken in us and what is despicable in us, we will continue to despise others. I must accept myself as a broken person.”  -Martin Luther King, Jr. as related by Jean Vanier 

I confess that I am a broken person.  I accept that brokenness.  Life is a long and winding road, with twists and turns and irony and all nature of things we never expect to see or experience or pass through.  Often it is kind and good and filled with wonder… Continue reading

Growing up, every year during Holy Week, despite our poverty, my dad would splurge to rent a VCR and the VHS version of “Jesus of Nazareth” by Franco Zeffereli, and we would watch it as a family beginning on Holy Thursday and usually finishing up on Holy Saturday. (I realize some of you reading this are too young to remember the days of VCR’s and VHS video tapes…much less the necessity of “renting” one…)  To this day I still try to watch the movie at some point during Holy Week, both to keep the tradition alive, and also because it is still my favorite theatrical version of the events surrounding the life and times of Jesus Christ. I also like to watch pieces of it occasionally throughout the year, and while watching it recently, something Jesus said during his first encounter with Matthew struck me.

Shortly after Jesus’s first meeting with Peter, Continue reading

“Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky

Most of my adolescent and adult life I’ve suffered from severe sleep issues.  I’ve sometimes felt like a human guinea pig as doctors have tried to determine the exact reason for my condition, and despite all the tests and evaluations, no one has been able to pinpoint a cause, and more importantly, a solution to the problem.  Because of this, I frequently find myself lying wide-awake in bed, my thoughts slowly spiraling downward into a frothy mix of reflection on the day past, imaginations of the coming day, and anxiety that I won’t be able to fall asleep.  There are many old remedies suggested for sleep issues, with the most common being to “count sheep” until you fall asleep.  Despite trying this tactic, it has never worked for me.  However, one thing that I often find does help is counting the things I’m thankful for each day, or as one might say it, counting my blessings instead of sheep.

A couple of months ago I was able to be at and involved with the marriage of the two goofballs in the picture above.  With the past few years of life having thrown some curve balls at my wife and I,  Continue reading

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” – Mahatma Gandhi

In this special time of year, after the holidays and new year’s resolutions have faded, as the cold bite of deep Winter sinks in, and my senses are overwhelmed with the dark and depressive grey skies and dead foliage, I find myself in great need of some sort of renewal…preferably in the form of a warm beach and a mojito.  In lieu of that, I usually spend more time sitting under blankets…on my heated mattress pad…with a heater blowing on me…sipping warm beverages…and surfing the inter-webs.  In doing so, I noticed a wonderful article shared on “The Facebook” by one of my dear friends.  It warmed my soul and so, I thought I’d share it, in hopes that you too will find it edifying and helpful for the daily grind.

I don’t make new year’s resolutions anymore, however, the words, deeds, and admonitions from Pope Francis below are enough resolution for anyone.  Despite being some of the simplest things to attempt,

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