Dear Friend,

In Jerusalem, there is a Holocaust Museum dedicated to the memory of the millions of Jews who were killed by the Nazis in World War II. Going through the museum is a very depressing experience because you see these horrible pictures and read the accounts of the ghettos and the concentration camps. But in the midst of all the dark tales of suffering, there is one amazing story of how God can transform horror into hope.

Dear Friend,

Sin demands to have a person be alone. It withdraws the individual from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him or her, and the more deeply the person becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is the isolation.

Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed, it poisons the whole being of a person.

Dear Friend,

A man named Peter inherited a huge land grant, but the will provided that he could choose land in either Chile or Brazil. He chose Brazil. Unhappily, if he had chosen Chile, he would have received his inheritance in land on which they had recently discovered uranium, gold, and silver. But he chose Brazil.

Dear Friend,

Here is a little simple meditation. It is about "Taters".

Some people are very bossy and like to tell others what to do, but don’t want to soil their own hands. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. They are called "Dick Taters".

Some people never seem motivated to participate, but are just content to watch while others do the work. They are called "Speck Taters".

Dear Friend,

Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad.

Dear Friend,

A pastor in Dublin once formed a mutual encouragement group at a time of stress in his large urban parish.

The members subscribed to a simple formula applied before speaking of any person or subject that was perhaps controversial.

Dear Friend,

Of all the classical Spiritual Disciplines, Christian Stewardship of Time, Talent, and Treasure is the most conductive to the growth of humility.

When we set out on a consciously chosen course of action that accents the good of others and is for the most part a hidden work, a deep change occurs in our interior spirit.

Dear Friend,

In 1 Samuel 17, we have the thrilling story of David, the modest shepherd boy who slew Goliath, the arrogant giant of Gath. The drama of that event so occupies our attention that the spiritual lessons contained in the more minute details may escape our notice.

Dear Friend,

Let me offer you some thoughts about "Mountain-Moving Faith And Dedication."

A small Catholic parish in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new church on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building.

Dear Friend,

When Rosina Hernandez was in college, she once attended a rock concert at which one young man was brutally beaten by another. No one made an attempt to stop the beating. The next day she was struck dumb to learn that the youth had died as a result of the pounding. Yet neither she nor anyone else had raised a hand to help him. She could never forget the incident or her responsibility as an inactive bystander.

Dear Friend,

Paul and the Philippians remembered and supported one another in prayer.

A joyful, loving, and caring Catholic Community is one which keeps each other in prayer.

Oftentimes, we fail to be a joyful, loving, caring Catholic Community because we fail to remember and support each other in prayer.

Dear Friend,

I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the loving God, who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary.

I believe in the love Mary gave her son, that caused her to follow him in his ministry and stand by his cross as he died.

I believe in the love of all mothers, and its importance in the lives of the children, they bear.

C. S. Lewis once provided a powerful image of the difference between heaven and hell.

He described hungry people sitting at a huge banquet loaded with delicious food. Every person had a meter-long fork and knife attached to their hands (that’s about three feet long). The scene in hell was one of anger, frustration, and fighting as people scrambled to feed themselves.