Happy Thanksgiving

As always, there is much for which to be thankful. Even when life seems to weigh heavily upon us, knowing that the weight is lighter because of God's love and the love and support of family and friends is a gift to cherish. We should all reflect on those things for which we are thankful.

And how about another little twist? In addition to focusing on what you are thankful for, we should all try to be present in someone else's life so that they might be thankful for our presence, assistance, kind words or, comforting hand. So, this Thanksgiving, aspire to be what someone else is thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.

A Time Well Spent

I spent the weekend of November 12-14 at the Holy Family Monastery for a retreat with a bunch of truly excellent people. Theresa, Rose, Pat, Brandon, Fr. David, Sr. Mary Ann, Matt, Andrea, Chris, Mike and the rest of the retreat team was nothing short of spectacular. The students from Simsbury and Branford were also excellent. The spirit was at work, no doubt.

These are some of the things that I learned over the weekend. Feel free to add a comment with things I've missed.

• As much as the Church is beaten around these days, the joy and vibrancy of the young people in the church bodes well for the future. I almost get the sense that we needed to have a little awakening (even a rude one) in the Church to help us refocus on the core of what we believe is important: honesty, commitment, faith, listening to others (regardless of their age) to learn from their experiences of Christ in this world, a willingness to participate in community, allowing yourself to be moved by the spirit.
• Music moves you just a little closer to God.
• Reconciliation is a gift, even if it requires a bit of humility to accept.
• Youthfulness is a good thing, even if it keeps the priests up after midnight.
• God works through us in every little thing that we do.

I owe a great deal of thanks to all those who were present and allowed themselves to feel Christ's presence in all of us.

This Blog is just beginning. May it serve as a place to commune, to share joy and sorrow, to worship and to bring this world a little closer to God's ideal.

Peace.