(photo: Wild Geranium, Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) We have a small parade of deer stroll past our place regularly in the evenings. When I go out on our south pasture, I see the large matted down circles of grass where they have been bedding down for the night, both in the pasture and … Continue reading Why would I ever forgive that person?
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Mercy Makes Forgiveness
(photo: Pope Leo XIV and author Diane Foley, Vatican Media, 2025) I have a theory: Learning from experience is fundamentally human. We learn from our experiences, and what we learn changes the way we think, feel, and act -- sometimes a little, but sometimes in ways that transform us. When we are in community with … Continue reading Mercy Makes Forgiveness
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 … Continue reading Why is real forgiveness a process?
Forgiving Makes More Forgiveness
(photo: Prairie Deer Mouse by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) An important part of my day is the time I spend in our stable, hay shed, and on our pastures. Regularly doing some outdoor work caring for animals and little ecosystems like pastures, keeps gives me a daily connection to nature and the proverbial … Continue reading Forgiving Makes More Forgiveness
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 … Continue reading What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
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
“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 … Continue reading “I fall to pieces…”
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 … Continue reading Authentic Human Flourishing
New Heart, Natural Heart
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) One thing that you start seeing in the woods around the oak savanna this time of year is a noticeable addition of mushrooms. This trend starts in late summer and will have a crescendo in the fall. These mushrooms caught my eye as I was walking through … Continue reading New Heart, Natural Heart
Live and Forgive 