Just One Look
March 28, 2023
The Sign of the Cross
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own…” (John 8:28). Francis prayed continually to be identified with the crucified Christ. His efforts throughout his …
Mapping the Everyday Sacred
I rely on certain passages from the psalms as my daily guide; most essentially, the words from Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.” At the end of 2021, as I was …
Give Thanks for the Emptiness
I walked last night down past the houses until there was only a wildlife refuge, dunes on the left, empty beach on the right. It was not really “empty.” So what is “empty”—that hunger within? We think there is nothing …
Like a Firefly
It’s late July. The Northeast is rolling with the peapod-scent of cornstalks rising and clouds reflect with perfect symmetry in the stillness of the reservoirs. Two of my friends have shared with me their epiphanies of a sort, of seeing …
Don’t Compare, Don’t Judge
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:37–38). Jesus reserved his harshest words in …
Ordinary and Extraordinary
The transfiguration was an extraordinary moment. Such moments don’t happen very often. But when they do, they change everything.
Francis and the Sultan
This meeting between Francis and the sultan has received a great deal of attention in our own century. The need for peace and understanding is as great in our time as it was during the Crusades, and sometimes as little valued.