(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
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Forgiveness: Heal your worldview, heal yourself!
(photo: Alex Knight, 2016) In important ways, the world we see is a reflection of ourselves. What we see is a reflection of what we are looking for, what has become important to us, what we choose to pay attention to, as well as how we think and feel about our prior experiences of the … Continue reading Forgiveness: Heal your worldview, heal yourself!
Harvard Catholic Forum Hosts Tyler VanderWeele: A Theology of Health
(photo: Harvard University, 2025) Join the Harvard Divinity School online for Professor VanderWeele's book talk on A Theology of Health tomorrow, November 13th, at 5:30 PM ET. Register to attend here: https://www.harvardcatholicforum.org/event/book-talk%3A-a-theology-of-health. If your parish or faith community is seeking a deeper experience of forgiveness, healing, mercy, and spiritual renewal, Live and Forgive is here … Continue reading Harvard Catholic Forum Hosts Tyler VanderWeele: A Theology of Health
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
Forgiveness Education is Mental Health Education Grounded in Love of God and Neighbor
(photo: Bishop Timothy Dolan, OSV News, Gregory A. Shemitz, 2025) Bishop Dolan is a vocal advocate for the work of the Catholic Church to promote mental health in all of its communities. He founded the International Association of Catholic Health Ministers after experiencing the suicide of his brother, and several family members before him. OSV … Continue reading Forgiveness Education is Mental Health Education Grounded in Love of God and Neighbor
Meditation Nurtures Mind, Body, and Spirit for Forgiveness
(art: Saint Clare of Assisi) In September I wrote an article entitled The Way to Forgiveness: Quiet and Meditation that explained how quiet meditation can help move you mentally and spiritually to the place you need to be in order for you to be ready to engage with forgiveness. Our Franciscan tradition includes exemplars of meditation … Continue reading Meditation Nurtures Mind, Body, and Spirit for Forgiveness
Templeton Foundation Forgiveness Resources Available for Fall 2025
(photo: Alex Polezhaev, 2008) The Templeton World Charity Foundation has compiled and released a set of freely available forgiveness resources with the idea that autumn is a time to strengthen our immune systems, and that includes forgiveness. The resources include: Research Spotlight: Forgiveness and Physical Health Forgiveness as a Stress Buffer Linking Forgiveness and Physical … Continue reading Templeton Foundation Forgiveness Resources Available for Fall 2025
Love & Forgiveness: Research-Informed Action is the Way Forward
Dr. Tyler VanderWeele, the director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, recently published an article in Psychology Today, which was also shared as a research update from the Human Flourishing Program. Both the article and the research update recapitulate main points of the recent research by VanderWeele and Lee (2025) on the possibilities … Continue reading Love & Forgiveness: Research-Informed Action is the Way Forward
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
Is there divine forgiveness for suicide?
One of the greatest tragedies and griefs that a person may experience in their lifetime is the death of a loved one when they take their own life. The despair of the loved one that first led them to taking their own life doesn't stop there, but rather extends its devastation to encircle the living … Continue reading Is there divine forgiveness for suicide?
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