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A lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving! Here are some glimpses from my end in the last month and half:

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….(October- November): my brother Joe spending four weeks with me here – for him a time of rest and renewal (following his 25th priestly anniversary in July); and for he and I time to catch up, remember, and renew friendship (Emerald Isle, NC)

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but also a time to dream….. (planning meeting for Joe’s Bethany Miracle Village)

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… the honor of being selected as one of five recipients of Duke University’s Thomas Langford Lectureship Award (‘designed to provide Duke’s faculty with an opportunity to hear about the ongoing scholarly activities of their recently promoted colleagues’). At the Nov 9th lecture entitled: Pursuing Reconciliation in Africa: Stories from Bethany, I share about my research at the intersection of World Christianity and Reconciliation studies respectively.

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Nov 19-22: spending a weekend down in Northport, Fl visiting Chester and Roberta Blais – friends since 1993 (Elkhart, Indian) and celebrating their 55thwedding anniversary! A simple but beautiful mass with the renewal of vows, followed by a hearty breakfast brunch with some of their close friends, is a good way to celebrate the gifts of Roberta and Chester’s friendship and intimacy.

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-Nov 27: A 50th birthday anniversary this weekend (27 Nov)!

A quote from Gregory Boyle,’s Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (highly recommended) frames it all very well for me: Quoting William Blake, Fr. Boyle notes: “We are put on earth for a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love.” (xiii)

I am indeed grateful for all the beams of love these last 50 years! I am so grateful for each and all of you who are helping me to learn to bear the beams – thus, helping to return me to my true self.

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