There’s a book that was published in 1970 by Harold Sherman that had a title that made potential buyers want to buy the book: How to Foresee and Control Your Future. We all have a desire to control our future. Lucifer knows this. The lie that he successfully told Eve was that she and Adam would never die, which implied that if they ate from the tree of good and evil, they would be able to exercise complete control over their lives forever.
Last weekend, after Mass at St. Philomena Church, a young woman in her 20s approached me and asked if I would write an article about what it means to show praise and thanksgiving to our Lord. The celebration of the Mass had been in honor of Christ the King and she felt that the upcoming Thanksgiving and Advent seasons provided a perfect opportunity for us to praise and thank God for what he has done for us.
Last month, Georgette and I attended a retirement party for Dr. Ed Kaizer. The party was at Bradley University, where Dr. Kaizer taught music for 45 years. We got to know Dr. Kaizer during the early 1990s, when our three oldest children — Harry, Anna, and Maria — were students at Bradley. They were all involved in the music program at Bradley and each of them had the opportunity to take piano lessons from Dr. Kaizer.
They were known as the “Golden Couple.” But last month, the gold turned to dust when Angelina Jolie, the queen of the Golden Couple, filed for divorce against the king, Brad Pitt. They lived together for 10 years before they got married in 2014. They are the parents of three adopted children and three biological children, ranging in ages from eight to fifteen.
On Mother’s Day, my oldest daughter Anna invited our entire family over to her house for dinner. After dinner, we celebrated the birthday of her 6-year-old son, David. Whenever I’m invited to one of my grandchildren’s birthday parties, I go out of my way to find an inexpensive but unique gift that they will remember and enjoy using. I always tease them ahead of time about the gift I have for them.
Last week, I published a tribute that my wife, Georgette, had written about her father, Dumit Ghantous. Georgette’s dad passed away on January 19, 2016. I met Dumit on August 4, 1978, when I was 21 years old. I remember the date because it was the same day I met Georgette. We met in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Midwest Federation Lebanese Convention. From the moment I met Dumit, he treated me like I was a member of his family.