Reflection

In all places and at all times

A friend told me that his son, who works with the United Nations in the Middle East, is frequently asked, “Where do you pray,” meaning …

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Wind and fire

Some things can be told only as a story. Someone offers a story and we listen. But we know it is pointless to ask questions …

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Lovely as a tree

The study window looks out on our front garden. Our kitchen window looks out on our back garden. Each one gives us a view of …

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The cost

In flippant phrases such as “there’s no free lunch,” we acknowledge a deep truth about life: everything has a cost. We could add that the …

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The medicine of truth

It is fascinating to see how many of the therapies of our time have much in common, though their language seems to differ. For instance, …

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Companions on El Camino

For one enchanted evening a very long time ago, I was one of the Magi — a wise man. My black moustache and beard were …

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A timeless love

I recall reading somewhere that something we take totally for granted about the human mind is in fact one of its most remarkable accomplishments. It …

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The story and the glory – a Christmas bouquet

William Blake once wrote that it would be wonderful “to hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” Many years …

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Hard hat country

The excavation site is huge. Someday, a towering structure will emerge to — we fervently hope — grace the city. At the moment, this area …

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Small boys, golden doors and great cathedrals

When I was a small boy, I was a member of a Bible study group led by Mr. Turner, someone who was wise enough to …

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The first day

It is early September 1933 and it has been decreed that I, on the cusp of five years old, should go to school. The great …

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The prie-dieu

The antique shop was large. I found myself in it only because my family was in a nearby store, and, since I’m not much of …

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A silencing of doubt

Sometimes when I wonder at the scriptures of the resurrection, asking the questions and experiencing the doubts that people have voiced since the extraordinary events …

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The Friday we dare to call Good

Those who wrote the four gospels did so because they were convinced that the three fleeting years of the public ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, …

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‘Love is a many-splendored thing’

You may remember this as the title song in a long-ago movie of the same name. The stars, as we used to say, were William …

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