Book Review: Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, by Brant Pitre, Doubleday, New York, 2011.  202 pages.   Nihil Obstat, Impramatur, with a foreword by Scott Hahn and amply footnoted.  “The message of Jesus is completely misunderstood if it is…

Seven Gifts

On Wednesday, June 11, 2014, Pope Francis concluded a series of talks he began in early April at his Wednesday General Audiences on the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  While the Holy Spirit is certainly not limited to gracing…

The Intrepid Luis Baza

Here’s a true story of a brave Chamorro man, Luis Baza, who successfully challenged a cruel and corrupt Spanish governor in court and won.  The governor, Francisco Moscoso y Lara, was fined and banished from the Mariana islands forever. Baza’s story,…

My Seventh Sister

My little sister, actually my seventh sister, Colleen Patricia White, celebrated her 40th birthday this week.  That would not usually be remarkable, except for the fact that Colleen is remarkable.  Colleen, born within a year of the issuing of the…

An Attitude of Gratitude

Check out this clip from a recent TED conference of Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, a Benedictine monk, giving tips on how to make the gentle power of gratitude permeate our lives.  Bro. David’s words resonated with me because I’ve discovered, in…

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  Psalm 139:13-14 Take a few minutes –…

Things Visible and Invisible

Thanks to microscopy, digital photography, and the Olympus BioScapes International Digital Imaging Competition, creation which was once invisible is now visible to us in stunning color and detail.  The Olympus Bioscapes contest with its extraordinary images was initiated by Olympus, the…

The Dance of the Moon

Here’s a stunning view of NASA’s Juno spacecraft heading toward earth, on its way to be “sling shot” toward Jupiter.  The video, which shows the moon orbiting the earth in dramatic fashion, was composed of pictures sent back to earth…