We all wear masks. As people of faith,    we're called to see beyond the masksto the faces behind. We're called to see,    behind every mask,the Face of all faces,    the face of the Divine,the face of the… Continue reading

If you do it    with gratitude and awareness,        it is prayer. You drink a glass of cold water–    if with gratitude and awareness,        it is prayer. You mow and edge the lawn–    if… Continue reading

Any expression of love    is prayer. Did you think your day    was devoid of prayer?Think again: That glance, that touch,    that appreciation,that sigh, that smile,    that patient attention–prayer. Did you prepare a meal for someone?   … Continue reading

One day    your silence        shall bring bliss. How do I know this? Because    this is what silence is—        bliss. Silence is bliss    because in silence        dwells God. Text and image ©… Continue reading

That for which you yearn,    for which you ache, crave, itch, chafe–longing, expectant–    waits outside for its time,waits for you to be still,    silent, undistracted. It's been waiting for so long,    itself desiring the necessary, spacious… Continue reading

I'm still that boy–    the one on his blue Schwinn–speeding through thick summer heat,    dodging overhanging branches,outrunning the imagined monsters of childhood,    pedaling madly against looming adolescence,against responsibility, term papers and summer jobs    (picking blueberries, mowing… Continue reading

Time passes    as it pleases, racing like Olympic sprinters    approaching the finish line,crawling like molasses    over the jar's rim,collecting itself like raindrops    in the cup of the tulip,releasing like a coaster    from the crest of… Continue reading

Another day in the 90s. The herbs in their pots    slurp up waterlike dogs too long in the heat. Eventually the sun shifts enough    so light filters throughthe plum tree overhead,    and the patio becomes bearable–if not… Continue reading

Our six-year-old neighbor girl    professes not to believe in Santa Claus. "I do," I said. "See," said her mother,    "there are adults who believe in Santa." As a child    I don't actually recall believing in Santa.I perceived… Continue reading

The next time you lay unsleeping,    staring at the dark ceiling,thank God for your wakefulness. Ask–    aloud or to yourself–"What gift do you have for me?" Fall back into silence    and await the answer. In darkness, in… Continue reading