Gratitude

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

-- Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Love vs Power

Christianity does not think of man finally submitting to the power of God, it thinks of Him as finally surrendering to the love of God. It is not that man's will is crushed, but that man's heart is broken.

-- William Barclay

Freedom & Forgiveness

Unless you have been unfree, it's difficult to understand what it does mean to become free.

-- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

One of the things that God teaches us through living this life is the glorious power that forgiveness contributes to this idea of freedom. And, I suspect, that I can only offer forgiveness when I realize how much I need it. Is this part of what it means to be an 'eagle' (see transcript) at Tutu describes it? I believe he draws this image from Isaiah 40:31.

Certainty

Nothing would remain stable in human society if we determined to believe only what can be held with absolute certainty.

-- St. Augustine

'Ohio' Thoughts on The Game

UM vs OSU Programs

Rivalry Week

In the famous words of MLK, "I have a dream..."...and 'a dream' may be all that Michigan has this year...but we'll root for them nonetheless.

Silence

Nothing in all creation is so like God as silence.

-- Meister Eckhart, Sermons

Solitude - The Trend That Has Not Yet Arrived

I have learned much, but the time has come to realize that neither parents nor teachers nor counselors can do much more than offer a free and friendly place where one has to discover his own lonely way…This experience is frightful as well as exhilarating because it is the great experience of being alone, alone in the world, alone before God.

-- Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life

Swiss Alps

An amazing scene from a recent hike in the Swiss Alps.