"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace." ~ Traditional Franciscan Saying It's a very old saying within Franciscan tradition, sometimes even attributed to St. Francis of Assisi himself. But what does it mean. "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace?" and why would someone ever ask for that? What is peace? It's always … Continue reading Job Opening: Peacemaker, no previous experience needed
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Our Own Anger is Still Not Good for Us
(art: Church of St. Nicetas, Macedonia, 14th cent.) Whenever the Gospel accounts of Jesus driving out the money changers from the temple come up in the Liturgy of the Word, I often see an article or hear someone asserting that the Gospel account is proof that anger can be righteous and even a virtue. It … Continue reading Our Own Anger is Still Not Good for Us
Update: Pope Leo XIV Announces Worldwide November Prayer Intention for Suicide Prevention
Since the publication of my November 3rd article Is there divine forgiveness for suicide? here on Live and Forgive, Pope Leo XIV set a worldwide intention of prayer for the Catholic Church in this month of November (2025) for the prevention of suicide. The announcement includes a video that you can view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcME5I05LOg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vaticannews.va%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vaticannews.va&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ Please share these … Continue reading Update: Pope Leo XIV Announces Worldwide November Prayer Intention for Suicide Prevention
Divine Forgiveness: From Faith to Science and Back Again
(photo: Vatican Media, September 24, 2025) Pope Leo XIV addressed the topic of divine redemption today in his general audience. Divine redemption is an important concept and principle linked to divine forgiveness - i.e. forgiveness of our transgressions by God. Divine forgiveness is an important topic within forgiveness research because many people in general are … Continue reading Divine Forgiveness: From Faith to Science and Back Again
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 … Continue reading Daily Well-Being and Happiness
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 … Continue reading Strive to Do Good to All
You’ve Got a Friend
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota 2025) Wild grapes frequently show up on the borders of pastures here on the oak savanna of Central Minnesota. This year I made a point to help them grow by doing some vine dressing and using the fence around the north pasture as a scaffold of sorts. More … Continue reading You’ve Got a Friend
Live and Forgive 