It was my birthday week again and I am a big believer in celebrating birthdays in whatever way, that brings joy to the celebrant. At my age, one day is simply not enough, so now I opt for seeing the whole week as one big birthday celebration! That does not mean nightly parties and gorging …
For those of you who have not gotten it, nor who have not gotten where you want to be, and are tired and weary and want to give up, this post on perseverance is for you! Hang on, for you are already in the process of investing in those pay offs and rewards just …
I always find refuge not only in my faith, but in the enormous beauty of churches. Combine that with the sweetness of classical music that resonates off those old stones, and I find transformative moments of joy! Paris has an ongoing smorgasbord of concerts in her magnificent churches and chapels; a fair amount paying, but …
Classical Concerts In The Great Churches of Paris Read More »
After a bucolic weekend in the vineyards of Burgundy, I came home to immense sadness around the slaughter of many innocents in Orlando, two young French policeman, parents of two, and the female English politician and mother of two. These represent the utmost extreme forms of hatred, prejudice, and violence, but lesser ones, such as …
As I hiked up the pebble strewn path that meandered through vineyards as far as my eyes could see, it seemed like my legs had gears of their own, which was fine with me. After all, I had just enjoyed my first sparkling “fortification” of a day of fun and frolic in the revered vineyards …
Gourmet Promenade In The Vineyards Of Nuits Saint Georges Read More »
Hope, acceptance and powerlessness can be miracles that can transform and regenerate your life. Hope can be very difficult to hold onto, especially when life throws you in a valley of deep depression, or any painful circumstance that living this life can entail. Acceptance is likewise extremely difficult to come to terms with if you …
Europe is once again battling invasions of terrorism and violence, not yet with the same dimensions as during the life of Maria Skobtsova, also known as Saint Maria of Paris and Ravensbruck. She dedicated her life to easing the pain and suffering of hundreds in Paris plagued with hunger, racism, homelessness, mental illness, addictions and …
Saint Maria Skobtsova, Gutsy, Courageous And Charitable To The End Read More »
Being this is Easter week and Passover will be next month; both rich in symbolism and religious connotation, I wanted to highlight another theme along mental heath lines. Regardless of our faith, it is the season of liberation and rebirth. From despair to hope eternal, and from darkness into light. We are all familiar …
Church bells tolled at noon throughout France on August 15, during Assumption, a national holiday here as a wake up call to the increasing genocide of Christians in the Middle East, who are being displaced and slaughtered without mercy by the Islamic State. Assumption is my favourite Marian holiday, that is also the anniversary of …
Bells Toll In France To Save Middle East Christians, A Call To Action Now! Read More »
Every year when July 22 comes around, besides being reminded that I have only one month left before my birthday in August,I always think about celebrating the feast day of Mary Magdalene. I have done this several times at La Sainte Baume Saint Maximin, in the south of France, which remains one of my favourite …
My Celebration Of Saint Mary Magdalene In Vezelay Read More »
The ferry ride across the Bosphorus, in the blistering hot sun, provided my first view of the magnificent Hagia Sophia slowly becoming more visible, as the ferry slowed to dock in Eminonu, the old city’s port. Newly arrived, I felt suddenly plunged into a kaleidoscope of colorful sights, smells, and sounds that might as well been 100 …
I don’t think that I could have ever been a monk or nun, but It looks like I am becoming one in the middle of the night. No, I am not waking up to the bells of matins, but frankly I might as well, as if these middle of the night awakenings are getting quite …