Life is full of surprises, as you have probably noticed, some big and some small. I think of a startling moment that occurred on a day not so long ago. My husband pulled up at the drive-up window of our local bank. Just as the teller greeted us, a gray field mouse popped up on … Read moreThe Unexpected Hitchhiker

How Catholics Help Build Western Civilization Picture a field of wildflowers growing in a pasture located in southern France. The year is 1830. A boy named Henri crawls through the field spying on a butterfly.  He watches with a keen eye as the butterfly lands on a flower and sips nectar. The boy’s name is Jean-Henri Fabre … Read moreJean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915)

Back in the olden days when I was a child, I walked to school. In fact, every day I walked twice to school. First, I walked to school (1/4 mile) then I walked home for lunch, then I walked back to school, then I walked home. No adult ever accompanied me. I was on my own to … Read moreAutumn in Maine

How Catholics Helped Build Western Civilization Nestled in the countryside twenty miles east of Paris, the Braille family lived a comfortable life. Simon-Rene, father of four young children, was a good provider, operating a leather shop on his land.  One day his three-year-old son, Louis, wandered into the workshop to play. He picked up a … Read moreThe Genius of Louis Braille (1809-1852)

Of a recent evening I gathered with friends round the campfire, praying, singing, and chatting. It was a pristine evening with the Milky Way smudged across the sky and a half-moon off to the east. Hidden in the grasses, crickets sang of summer ending.  I thought of a chapter in Charlotte’s Web. E.B. White described the … Read moreCricket Song