Deacon Mike: An Itinerant Preacher

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I was listening to Krista Tippet, the host of  the radio show On Being, and she had Sylvia Boorstein as her guest . Sylvia is a celebrated Jewish-Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist, mother, and grandmother. She is  delightful as well as insightful and if you would like to read or listen to the entire interview please [...]

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“Building prisons to address crime is a bit like building graveyards to address AIDS.” These are the words of Father Greg Boyle, or Father G as his friends call him. Below is a short video that is at least 15-20 years old. It is interesting to hear former presidents and a governor talking about getting [...]

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As a follow-up to my homily – Looking up to God by reaching down, I wanted to post some more information about Fr.  Greg and his book  Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. Here is a summary of the book: As a pastor working in a neighborhood with the highest concentration of [...]

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This year at our meetings for our local St. Patrick’s Friends of Dismas group we have been exploring what it means to live a life of compassion, one of the great Christian virtues. Below is talked called Reconnecting with Compassion: by Krista Tippett on TED.com . A good place to start any discussion is at the [...]

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In yesterday’s “This Sunday” post we  find two interpretations of this week’s reading from two priests, Fr. Robert Barron and Fr. Scott Lewis, whom I highlight each week. Fr. Robert Barron could be considered a Catholic apologist (for more (and I mean more) on Apologetics click here.). In this homily, Becoming Fit for Worship, Fr. [...]

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The story of Jesus healing the man with leprosy is found in all three of the synoptic gospels. This is a measure of the importance of this interaction in the minds of the evangelists. Mark is the only one, however, to include that Jesus was moved by compassion. Interesting? Mark 1: 40-42 And a leper  [...]

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Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. –St.  Paul One of the tasks I enjoy most about writing this blog is the selection of quotes for my Twitter Feed. My quest to catch up to Lady Gaga on Twitter has been a total failure [...]

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I was listening to Krista Tippet, the host of  the radio show On Being, and she had Sylvia Boorstein as her guest . Sylvia is a celebrated Jewish-Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist, mother, and grandmother. She is  delightful as well as insightful and if you would like to read or listen to the entire interview please [...]

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“I don’t know what weapons will be used in world war three, but in world war four people will use sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein Click here for more about  Albert Einstein    

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I raise this not so BIG question as the result of having just moved our washer and dryer after three years to clean underneath it. I will not mention what accumulates around these cleaning machines other than to say it was not a pretty sight. But that is not the point of this little rant. [...]

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It was around 1984 at a sales conference and I had just heard one my first “motivational speakers.” His name was Joel Weldon and he captivated the audience with his message. He left us with a tag line I also never forgot- “Success comes in Cans not in Cannots”. We each got a can with [...]

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In the second of the beatitudes Jesus reassures us that  “Happy are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” One of the things I have noticed is that in times of grief,people search for ways to offer comfort to the one who is suffering a loss. One tried and often used “truism” people share [...]

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Yesterday, I posted a wisdom saying from Harry Potter’s mentor Dumbledore. I had to admit I am not familiar with old Dumbledore but found his advice on death being the next great adventure for a person with a  ‘well ordered mind’  to be ripe with wisdom. One of my mentors is Henri Nouwen and in [...]

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After the shepherds departed having told them what the angels had said  we are told that “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Mary “pondered” (to think about (something) carefully, esp. before deciding or concluding.) – What did she really know? Here is a song called: Mary Did you know? I [...]

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