Suffering – Perpetual Adoration

March 20, 2021

The Road to Heaven is Paved With . . .

I had a dream last week about my grandmother, Effie Williams. I have a lot of fond memories of Grandma Effie. She passed away more than 34 years ago. She was smart, tough, resilient, industrious, organized, and patient.

March 6, 2021

Shut it Down!

I graduated from high school in 1975 (45 years ago). The school I attended was in a rural area of Peoria County. Most of the students in the school were from families in which at least one parent worked in a blue-collar job, such as manufacturing or the building trades. I came from one of those families.

January 30, 2021

From Trix Cereal to Iron-Willed Discipline

The spring semester of my junior year in college (1978) was the best semester I ever had as a college student. It was also the most challenging. I had a full load of 300-level classes in accounting and business, and competition among my fellow students was very high.

December 20, 2020

A Child, His Mother, and an Iron Lung

He was born to die on a cross. That was his destiny. The “word made flesh” came to Earth as an infant whose mother was a poor, humble virgin. He was born on Christmas day and was murdered 33 years later.

October 17, 2020

The Magic of Stress Inoculation

Last week I wrote about my five-year-old grandson, Liam, who was scheduled to have open-heart surgery on Tuesday, October 13. At the end of my article, I asked for prayers for Liam. I’m happy to report that the surgery was successful. The surgeon was able to apply a patch that was a little larger than a dime to the hole in Liam’s heart, and after the surgery, Liam’s heart rhythm was normal, and he was placed in the intensive care unit.

October 10, 2020

Training for Crisis Management

My five-year-old grandson, Liam, is scheduled to have open-heart surgery on Tuesday, October 13. Liam is my son Harry’s second child. Harry and his wife Kathryn have four children — three boys and one girl.

September 26, 2020

The Defiant Catholic Child

I’ve written before about how I grew up in a family of 17 children — nine boys and eight girls — and how my wife and I raised seven children of our own. In every large family, there is at least one defiant child who is difficult to handle and demands more attention than the other children.

September 12, 2020

A New Insight on Suffering

Last month, while my 10-year-old granddaughter, Grace Hercik, was playing outside, she fell and broke her arm. Two days before she broke her arm, when my family was together for a birthday party, I told Grace and my other grandchildren about how I broke my leg in 1967. I was the same age as Grace when I broke my leg.

August 22, 2020

Your Best Friend Can Also Be Your Worst Enemy

What if you were able to control the behavior of your best friend? What if you were able to control the behavior of your worst enemy? What if you could turn your worst enemy into your best friend?