albertscharbach

It's appropriate that we celebrated St. Maximillian Kolbe the day before the Assumption not only because that was the day he died, but because he was known for his ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. When Kolbe was twelve years old, he experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary that … [Read more...] about Assumption at Auschwitz

We celebrated two saints this past week who learned to fall upward. We can learn from them. St. Ignatius of Loyola aspired to a career in the military before a canon ball shattered his leg. A book about the lives of the saints was only reading available while he was convalescing. In this … [Read more...] about Falling upward

Neither of us had been to the northern plains before Abby went to North Dakota last week, so I took great interest when she described the vast grassland and the dark, rich soil. Then I wondered aloud, "How did the soil get so fertile, and why are there no trees?" What perfect provision for … [Read more...] about The mystery of the plains

This week I took the Conan-the-Barbarian approach to ridding my garden of weeds. I leveled everything by wielding my "grass whip," which is like a battle axe for weeds. Done in a morning. This is a difference from earlier years, when we took several weeks pulling each weed out by hand. But I … [Read more...] about The Conan approach to gardening