This article is for Catholics and others who want to learn about restorative justice, how restorative justice is an important way to live the Catholic faith, and basics for implementing restorative justice groups in parishes and communities. Related points in a recent Vatican News article linking restorative justice practices to Pope Leo's address on 2026 … Continue reading How Restorative Justice Puts Catholic Faith into Action
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Minnesota Franciscan Working for Forgiveness in Palestine
This article is for Catholics and others who want to know about forgiveness instruction, facilitation, and training and how that is being provided in Palestine by a Secular Franciscan in Minnesota. The article directs readers to another recent article I wrote for Central Minnesota Catholic explaining my work with a Catholic Relief Services humanitarian aid … Continue reading Minnesota Franciscan Working for Forgiveness in Palestine
Franciscan Wisdom: Wellness Needs Openness to Change
This article is for Catholics and anyone who feels and sees a need for change in their life, especially with a desire to experience greater wellness for themselves than what they are experiencing in their current situation. This article explains how openness to change is required for attaining and improving wellness and the personal and … Continue reading Franciscan Wisdom: Wellness Needs Openness to Change
Notre Dame Professor Melissa Moschella Explains Natural Law and Human Flourishing
This article summarizes a recent interview in OSV News of Dr. Melissa Moschella, a professor of the practice in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life, on the topic of natural law and human flourishing. Natural law and human flourishing are explained, as well as the connection between them (photo: … Continue reading Notre Dame Professor Melissa Moschella Explains Natural Law and Human Flourishing
Pope Sets New Jubilee for 800th Anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s Death
Death and Ascension of St. Francis, Giotto di Bondone, 1325, Basilica of Santa Croce Big news for our community of Secular Franciscans in Central Minnesota today! Pope Leo XIV has decreed a special Jubilee Year of Saint Francis to take place from January 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027, on the occasion of the eighth … Continue reading Pope Sets New Jubilee for 800th Anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s Death
Forgiveness is the Holy Door of the Heart
(photo: Holy Door at Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Berthold Werner, 2007) This article excerpts key points of the address given by Cardinal Archpriest Rolandas Macrickas at the closing of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Sant Mary Major that relate to forgiveness. The key points can help understand what forgiveness is, … Continue reading Forgiveness is the Holy Door of the Heart
Franciscan Advice: When forgiveness isn’t enough you need to clean house too! Here’s how!
(photo: Sherburne County, Minnesota (USA), Tom Delaney, 2025) Central Minnesota is blanketed in deep snow. The contours and features of the land get to be rounded and softer now, with a more resplendent and sparkling reflection of any glimmer of light. It makes you wonder if we are not cable of the same transformation -- … Continue reading Franciscan Advice: When forgiveness isn’t enough you need to clean house too! Here’s how!
Franciscan Advice for Entering Advent
(photo: Geheimnis der Weihnacht, Turris Davidica, 2014) Today is the day of Advent, are you ready? Are you wondering what there is to be ready for? Advent is an important liturgical season because it does two things for us: it memorializes, and it invites. Let's take a closer look at how Advent each of these … Continue reading Franciscan Advice for Entering Advent
Thanksgiving in the Story of Job
(art: Job and His Wife Restored to Prosperity, William Blake, 1826) The story of Job is one of the greatest stories of thanksgiving for all time. It is also special because it is a story shared between all of the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Book of Job is a relatively short read. … Continue reading Thanksgiving in the Story of Job
“New Things” in Theology Point to the Science of Mental Health
(photo: Sherburne County, Minnesota (USA), Tom Delaney, 2025) And just like that...it's winter here in Central Minnesota. The snow fell overnight while a stiff wind blew from the north that shook the forest. Fittingly, today's Liturgy of the Word includes the beautiful canticle from Daniel (Chapter 3) and ... Cold and chill, bless the Lord;Praise … Continue reading “New Things” in Theology Point to the Science of Mental Health
Live and Forgive 