Work – Page 6 – Perpetual Adoration

March 14, 2015

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A Banker Responds to My Novena

During the first three years of my law practice (1983 to 1986), I rented an office from some other attorneys. In addition to the use of an office, I was allowed to use the other attorneys’ receptionist to answer a separate telephone line that I had set up in the reception area. My agreement also included an arrangement in which I was able to use one of the secretaries to prepare legal documents. She kept track of the time she spent doing my work, and I paid an agreed-upon hourly rate to the attorneys for her services.

December 6, 2014

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Writing and the Spiritual Life

I recently stumbled across an old article that Fr. John Hardon had given to me more than 20 years ago. The title of the article was “Writing and the Spiritual Life.” He gave the article to me after telling me that I had an obligation to influence other Catholics through the written word. After rereading the article, I decided to republish it here so you could also benefit from Fr. Hardon’s wisdom. Here’s the article:

November 9, 2014

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Stretching Your Way To New Capabilities

Last month, a 22-year-old man scheduled an appointment with my office to discuss the possibility of filing a bankruptcy. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “Jim.” When Jim and I met, he explained to me that he had been terminated from his job earlier in the year and was drowning in debt. He told me that he currently lives with his girlfriend in the basement of her parents’ home.

May 31, 2014

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The Life of an Entrepreneur

If you’re like me, you probably never heard of Saint Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444). I learned about him a couple of weeks ago when I read a summary of his life. His feast day is on May 20, the same day as my birthday. This year, when I turned 57, I decided that it was time for me to learn about the saint who is honored by the Catholic Church every year on my birthday.

May 25, 2014

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A Corrupt System of Dependency

Last summer while my wife and I were having dinner at a local restaurant, the waitress who was serving our table asked me how everything was going with my law practice. I looked at her, hesitated, and answered, “It’s going pretty well.” Since I didn’t recognize her, I asked, “Do you work for a law firm?” She answered that she had worked at the courthouse for several years before quitting her job.

September 28, 2013

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Creative Ways to Find a Job

During the fall semester of my senior in high school (1974), my friend Dennis told me about a new grocery store that had opened in the Westlake Shopping Center (across the street from Northwoods Mall). The name of the store was Randall’s, and it was the first store in Peoria that had scanners at checkout lanes instead of cash registers, so items didn’t have to be rung up one at a time by hand. At that time, I was 17 years old. I asked Dennis for the name of the store manager, and he told me that his name was Steve.

September 21, 2013

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Rebellion Among McDonald’s Employees

When my wife and I returned to Peoria after I graduated from law school (1982), a cloud of fear overshadowed Central Illinois. Peoria was still reeling from the thousands of layoffs that had taken place in the late 1970s. Families were fleeing to other states in search of good-paying jobs.

June 15, 2013

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The Seven Pillars of Fatherhood

Earlier this month, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced an $800,000 grant that is designed “to disseminate information about good fatherhood parenting practices by building research and practice knowledge and capacity” and to “increase positive father involvement in the lives of their children.” (Reread what I just quoted and see if it makes any sense to you.)

February 3, 2013

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Too Sick and Lazy to Write

I haven’t been feeling well for the past couple of days. I finished writing my meditation on the sin of sloth yesterday, and all I want to do right now is go home, take some Advil and decongestant, and get some sleep. My head is clogged up, my eyes are watering, and I’m having chills.