Magnificent Desolation
“Magnificent desolation.” Those were the other famous words spoken from the surface of the moon on July 21, 1969. It was Buzz Aldrin’s description of the gray-white lunar landscape. Continue reading “Lenten Reflections”
Lenten Reflections
Preparing Rooms
A few years ago when LeAnn and I were building a new house together, we came to a stage in the process that we found very tedious: painting. Earlier stages were exciting as the structure grew out of the ground and took shape with ever-changing layers of concrete and wood, wallboard and windows, roof deck and shingles, woodwork and cabinets. But then, everything was covered with plastic and tape as the interior was painted. We no longer could see the wood floors and granite countertops. We could barely see anything at all because we couldn’t stay inside long with the heavy fumes that burned the eyes and nostrils. Continue reading “Lenten Reflections”
Lenten Reflections
All Kidding Aside
It was just a dumb joke, emailed to my longtime friend Paul, a lifelong parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church down the street from Wilshire. It was late February, 2013, Pope Benedict had just resigned, and I couldn’t resist: “So . . . the Catholic Church is giving up the Pope for Lent, huh?!” Continue reading “Lenten Reflections”