(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
Minnesota
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?
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)
Fire & Forgiveness
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) The days are turning cooler here in Central Minnesota, and the night chorus of crickets swells. Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purperea) is a one tow watch all summer long, and these days are no exception. Purple Prairie Clover is a native species or prairies in Minnesota, and … Continue reading Fire & Forgiveness
Happy Feast of St. Benedict!
Vision of Saint Benedict, Giovanni del Biondo (1356-1399 CE) We are lucky to have two Benedictine communities here in Central Minnesota: Saint John's Abbey and Saint Benedict's Monastery. Today, some words from one of the most celebrated Benedictine authors, Thomas Merton: God has left sin in the world in order that there may be forgiveness: … Continue reading Happy Feast of St. Benedict!
Live and Forgive 