On the combox of my post, “Suffering: the Irritant That Produces the Pearl,” a reader wrote: In you I see a woman who runs and kayaks and all the things that exhaust me just to read. As a read about your finding the tools/kits, I want tot say, PLEASE tell me what the tools are?...

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope  For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love  For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith  But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.  Wait without thought, for you...

Awhile back I returned to my high school alma mater and spoke to the high school students. Here’s the gist of my message: 12 Things I Learned in High School. 1. Act as if you belong. In 12-step support groups this means “fake it til you make it.” I just remember being incorrectly placed in...

In my daily meditational “Magnificat,” I read an excerpt from Teresa of Avila that gave me hope that we need not have perfect faith for our prayers to be heard by God. She writes: I was alone then without any person in whom I could find some support, unable to pray vocally or read, but...

The following is an excerpt from a new book called “Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate” by Helen Whitney, and is reprinted with permission of the publisher. Her book is based on the PBS documentary. From the beginning of time humans have committed brutal acts against one other. In this last...