Reflections
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The Heavenly Rock Tumbler
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in ReflectionsAlthough I’ve never had one, rock tumblers have always fascinated me. If you didn’t know, a rock tumbler is a hobbyist machine that turns rough, unpolished stones into smooth, gleaming gemstones by simulating the natural tumbling action of rivers and oceans. It works by continually rotating a barrel filled with rocks, water, and progressively finer abrasive “grit” over several…
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Why Do Catholics Worship Statues?
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I’ve been Catholic my entire life, but I’ve also attended many ecumenical gatherings and services from other denominations. In my experiences, the people have always been wonderfully generous and hospitable, and I can’t think of one where I haven’t encountered the presence of the Holy Spirit. Still, I always feel myself missing home. It’s a…
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Who’s The Idiot in the Rearview Mirror?
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in ReflectionsOh, wait, that would be me. The more we know about ourselves and who God made us to be, the more effective we will be in fulfilling our call and becoming saints. St. Teresa of Avila was a big proponent of striving to make progress in this area. In Interior Castle, she wrote, “Self-knowledge is so…
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The Multiplication of an Hour
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I don’t remember when I first heard about Eucharistic Adoration or even the first time I experienced it. I went to Catholic school for eight years in the 1980s, and it never came up. After going to public high school, I attended many Catholic retreats in college and spent three years very involved at the…
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Weed Killer for the Soul
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in ReflectionsWeed season is here. We’re barely into spring here in Sheboygan, and already a dang thistle has popped up in the middle of our fire pit. The thistles annoy me the most because the little jerks spread so quickly and are difficult to uproot with your bare hands. The guys who installed our fire pit…
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Face to Face with Jesus
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There I was, sitting at the feet of the Holy Family. Seemingly by accident. It was a late October afternoon. I was trying to read some letters I’d received, which was becoming increasingly difficult in the darkening church. I lamented my situation when suddenly, a light switched on above this beautiful carved statue on the…
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Providing for the Birds
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in ReflectionsOne morning, I was watching the birds gather around the feeder outside my studio. As they gorged on the all-you-can-eat seed buffet, I reflected on the Bible verse about God providing for the birds. “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly…
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Galaxy of Wonders
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in ReflectionsYou are the God who works wonders. —Psalm 77:14 Wonder has been on my mind a lot lately. It bubbled up on a family trip to Florida as I pondered the millions of seashells piled on the beach. Wonder is one of the core traits children possess, and something I tried to capture in the…
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Reminders that God is in Love with You
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in ReflectionsI’m a baby person. Whenever I see a baby or a toddler in public, I try to get them to smile or laugh. It’s my own little mission, and it can be quite challenging. I had a big win in an airport recently. I’d passed through security and was waiting on a bench for the…
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What?!
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in ReflectionsFun fact about the Catholic Church: we love a good fast, but we feast even harder. With the forty long days of Lent behind us, we now inhabit the fifty days of Eastertide, the liturgical period joyfully celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, beginning on Easter Sunday and ending on Pentecost. We’ve got the Lent thing…