Comfort Zone
- All
- Abortion
- Abuse
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- Adoration
- Amazon.com
- American Exceptionalism
- Angels
- Anger
- Anxiety & Panic
- Apologize (How To)
- Assisted Suicide
- Atheism
- Avarice/Greed
- Baptism
- Beliefs
- Birth Control
- Blessed Trinity
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Brown Scapular
- Business
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- Catholic Parenting
- Catholic Schools
- Catholic Women
- Celebrities
- Charity
- Chastity
- Christmas
- Comfort Zone
- Communion of Saints
- Confession
- Conflict
- Courage
- Covetousness
- Creativity
- Criticism
- Cross (Acceptance of)
- Dangerous People
- Dating
- Death
- Death Penalty
- Depression
- Devout Catholics
- Difficult People
- Divine Mercy
- Divorce
- Easter
- Economy
- Envy
- Evil
- Examination of Conscience
- Faith
- Family
- Fatherhood
- Fatima
- Fear
- Financial Problems
- Forgiveness
- Fr. John Hardon
- Freedom
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- Fulton J. Sheen
- Gay Marriage
- Gender Identity
- Getting Things Done
- Gluttony
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- Government
- Grandparents
- Gratitude
- Happiness
- Hate
- Health and Weight Loss
- Health Problems
- Heaven
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- Hope
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- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Independence Day
- Keys To Greatness
- Kingdom of God
- Lapsed Catholics
- Leadership
- Legal System
- Lent
- Life Is Worth Recording
- Love
- Lust
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- Meditations
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- Modesty
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- Mother Teresa
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- Movies, Television & Broadway
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- Nuclear Power
- Organ Donation
- Patience
- Personal Crisis
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- Politics
- Pope
- Popular Culture
- Pornography
- Prayer
- Pride
- Priesthood
- Purgatory
- Purity
- Redemption
- Reparation
- Resurrection
- Rosary
- Sacraments
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Sacrifice
- Saints
- Salvation
- School System
- Self Importance
- Seven Capital Sins
- Seven Sorrows of Mary
- Sex
- Sin
- Sloth
- Smartphones
- Sports
- St. Joseph
- Suffering
- Suicide
- Taking Action
- Technology
- Teenagers
- Thanksgiving
- Time Management
- Valentine's Day
- Virtues
- Walt Disney
- Work
- Works of Mercy
Last week, I wrote about a conversation I had with a contractor to whom I referred as “Ray.” I told you how Ray tried to convince me that in addition to needing new shingles and gutters, I also needed to replace the fascia and soffit on my house. One thing that I didn’t tell you was that he also tried to convince me that I needed my sidewalk, concrete patio, and landscaping blocks spray-cleaned and sealed. He bragged about how he had the best equipment on the market for cleaning and sealing concrete.
Last fall, I submitted a claim to my homeowner’s insurance for the replacement of the roof of my house. The shingles on the roof had been damaged by a hail storm that had occurred earlier in the year. A few days after I submitted the claim, an insurance adjuster came to my house and verified that the shingles had been damaged. A week later, he provided me with an estimate of the cost to replace the shingles. I told him that I wanted to get estimates from some contractors before I decided what to do. I then contacted a few roofing companies and asked them to provide me with estimates.
It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while, I complain directly to God about something that’s bothering me. Last week, my frustration with an ongoing issue finally got to the point that one of my thoughts went up to God in the form of a question: Why can’t you just have an angel appear to me in a dream and tell me what to do? I’m tired of playing these cat and mouse games where I’m always struggling to try to figure out what I should do.
Last week, I wrote about a couple who was having financial problems because of the husband’s inability to work. Here’s what I wrote at the end of the article:
I’ve been a lawyer for more than 35 years. I’ve dealt with hundreds of couples who, after years of marriage, are facing an unexpected crisis. You would think that after being married for 20 or more years, married couples would be more patient and forgiving of each other than they were when they were newly married. But that’s usually not the case. The fact that they’ve spent years together seems to somehow inhibit their ability to practice real patience and forgiveness toward each other.
Last week, I had an appointment with a man — I’ll call him Jim — who hired me eight months ago to represent him on a personal injury case. As usual, Jim brought his wife with him to the appointment. I’ve met with Jim and his wife on four occasions over the past eight months. Jim was injured when a large truck disregarded a stop sign and collided with his vehicle in the middle of an intersection. Because of his injuries, Jim has not been able to return to work. He’s been without an income for eight months.
I’m currently representing an elderly woman who was injured in an accident. When I met with her recently to discuss her case, she brought her nine-year-old grandson with her. After we were finished talking about her case, I asked her grandson what he wants to be when he grows up. He hesitated for a moment, and then his grandmother said, “Go ahead and tell him. He wants to be a YouTuber.”
On a Sunday afternoon in May 1987, I drove my family to my parents’ house so that we could visit with them. At the time, Georgette and I had four children — Harry, Anna, Maria, and Laura. When we arrived, my mom wished me a happy birthday. I had turned 30 the previous week. After wishing me a happy birthday, my mom’s first question was, “How does it feel to be 30 years old?”
After I published my recent article about how various local politicians, businesspeople, and former Caterpillar employees behaved after the announcement that Caterpillar was moving its headquarters to Chicago, I received an email from a man who is employed by Caterpillar in an upper-management position. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “James.”
I can remember wanting to be a lawyer when I was in 8th grade. At that time, I was 13 years old. I remember lying in bed imagining what it would be like to be a trial lawyer. In my mind’s eye, I could see myself in a courtroom questioning witnesses and arguing my case to a jury. Of course, in my imagination, I was a brilliant and relentless lawyer who won all of my cases.