Whether one is in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and so on, there never seems to be a good time to be “single”.
Category: Editorial
Remembering the dead and their families
Nothing is stopping death. It’s happening every day. People that once were are no longer, and those around them have no choice but to carry on.
I don’t know what to say
I had a wonderful time during Lent. I spent practically no time on my personal social media. It was great. I didn’t see any arguing. I didn’t get angry at various stories or comments.
Gains and losses
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I’m thinking out loud as I write today. Maybe it’s just me, but life seems to be a constant cycle of gaining and losing. For every blessing or step forward in our lives, there can be an opposite loss or step backward.
Hypothetically speaking, every career advancement is coupled with an unforeseen home repair bill. Or, every great day spent with friends can be met with a challenging illness in the family.
Sometimes we only focus on the bad things and the losses and accept them as a reflection of our lives — “it’s always something.”Divine Mercy Sunday: Do it right!
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After Easter, Catholics and Christians of all backgrounds can argue and debate which is the second most important day on the calendar.
I’m not advocating for one over the other, but since we’re nearing it, I’m going to talk about a day that should be in consideration for the next best day — Divine Mercy Sunday.
It’s the Sunday that comes after Easter, the eighth day of the Easter Octave, and depending upon the parish or the parishioner, there have been many different ways to observe that day.
At minimum, it usually includes veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy and/or praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.Easter: A forever shining moment
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Every year, when we get to late March and early April, there are two things on my mind — Easter and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament a.k.a. “March Madness”.
Do these two marvelous things have anything in common? I think so, if you know where to look.
‘We’re here now!’
Common images seen during any NCAA tourney programming are those of the “Cinderella” 1983 title game — such as North Carolina St. coach Jim Valvano running around on the court after his Wolfpack won in a dramatic upset, or guard Dereck Whittenburg coming up short on the last-second shot (or “passing the ball”) and having it caught by forward Lorenzo Charles who dunked it in the basket for the win.Nothing new under the sun
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Full disclosure: My writing this week is really just an excuse to use the photo on the right somewhere in the paper.
That picture is what could be seen in the sky around 7 a.m. on Monday, March 15.
In the preceding 24 hours or so, prior to me snapping it, I had been grumbling and complaining that “daylight savings” did its thing and I lost an hour between Saturday and Sunday.
Turning a corner
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As I was turning into my parking spot at work the other day, I happily observed the sight of melting and disappearing snow.
It was an obvious sign that winter was almost over and sights and temperatures would soon be here that do not hurt my face upon impact.
As I was taking the key out of the ignition, I connected two other semi-related thoughts.
One: The pandemic is easing up on us. I’d heard a radio news report about the new CDC guidelines regarding those who are fully vaccinated against the COVID. One of these guidelines being that you can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask. We are still in a time of pandemic, so some measure of care and cautiousness is still a thing.‘How is your comfort level?’
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During my previous career as a TV news producer, I had friendships with many of the on-air “talent”.
A few of them were with meteorologists (who really are good and decent people who do the best they can in spite of all the criticism they face for getting a forecast wrong).
While I don’t think the one I’m about to refer to will be reading this (although his ears might be ringing now!), I still want to mention he had a daily ritual of asking me — with an air of both irony and general concern — “How’s your comfort level?”‘Don’t know what you got (till it’s gone)’
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“These are the good old days” — William Powell as “Nick Charles” in The Thin Man (1934).
Someday, Lent will pass and spring will have arrived. Someday, winter will be back. Someday, I’ll hit age 40. Someday, I will no longer be the editor of the Catholic Herald. Someday, I will die. (Well, that escalated quickly.)
Everything we know, love, and treasure on this Earth will be lost to us or will pass away.
Despite the initial emotional reactions to those statements, they are facts.
All of our “stuff” will either leave us or we will leave it. The same goes for our friends and loved ones. For life to go on, ob-la-di, ob-la-da, someone has to depart from someone.