-
Why is real forgiveness a process?
(photo: Artist’s Conk, Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) The mixture of hardwood oaks and aspens along with softwood pines and junipers makes for a wide variety of mushrooms and fungi in our little corner of the oak savanna. I took a photo of this Artist’s Conk (Ganoderma lobatum) in our woods and I’ll be…
-
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) This little patch of Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia herta) showed up in our woods for the first time this year. There must be just enough of a break in the overhead canopy of pines to provide the sunlight that these flowers bask in. Black Eyed Susans are…
-
Pray for Annunciation School
As news of the shooting this morning at Annunciation School in Minneapolis unfolds, we pray especially for the children and their mothers, knowing that God and angels are with them in this terrifying time. (The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898)
-
Daily Well-Being and Happiness
(photo New day, new hope by Takky edine, 2014) I want to talk about how some things we learn from the morning prayers (Lauds) in the Liturgy of the Hours today relate to forgiveness, and reinforce the importance of forgiveness. But before I do that, I think I need to do something I haven’t done…
-
Forgiveness in Elder Flourishing
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) This is the time of year when the Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) is in bloom and we can see all kinds of pollinators busily working the flowers. As you can see in the photo, it’s an amazing sight of coexistence, not to mention that you may be…
-
Co-Reflection Transforms Reconciliation
(photo by Harli Marten, 2016) A new study by Australian researchers suggests that transgressions between couples may actually strengthen their relationship when the reconciliation process includes co-reflection. This growth is termed Post-Transgression Relationship Growth or “PTRG” for short. In co-reflection, relationship partners relationship partners working through the incident together (Thai et al., 2023). The researchers…
-
Strive to Do Good to All
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) It may look like a flower at first, but this is actually a very small delicate mushroom growing along our pasture fence line. It’s called an Orange Pinwheel (Marasmius siccus) and definitely catches the eye with its saffron color. This mushroom is famous for its ability to…
-
“I fall to pieces…”
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) The weather is a bot cooler this weekend in Central Minnesota. It may just be a coincidence, but there seem to be more large dragonflies flying this weekend. The cooler temperatures make pasture management a pleasant day outdoors. I came upon this Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) on…
-
Authentic Human Flourishing
Pope Leo emphasised that the vision of a flourishing life is often distorted in today’s world. “Today, a flourishing life is often confused with a materially wealthy life or a life of unrestricted individual autonomy. The so-called ideal future presented to us is often one of technological convenience and consumer satisfaction. Yet we know this…
LIVEANDFORGIVE.COM
forgiveness, healing, and spiritual renewal
