Author: johnfreal
-
Ancestors in Ancient Ireland
I know at least the names of almost all my great great grandparents but almost no ancestors beyond those with the exception of the people in this story who lived in ancient Ireland. My Aunt Marie and Grandmother Letitia told me that red hair and freckles ran in the family, but they both spoke of…
-
March Forth – Lockton Lane
For almost 40 years March has become a month where many of the days have special memories for me. There is, of course, our wedding anniversary, but for many years this became the occasion for Mel to remind me, because of my regular teaching duties, regional and state academic contests, and tennis coaching, that she…
-
5 Roads to Walk
These 5 meditations can be read all together or one at a time or in groups. The photo of the painting by my friend, Nicki Lang, is used with permission. We Are What Is Left Lions and tigers and bears, oh my Language and logic and lies Fictions seem to last longer than the truth…
-
Witness to Black History – University Avenue
In early 1960s the nightly news brought reports of freedom rides, sit ins, boycotts, marches, and voter registration. In high school I thought if I had been a year or two older, it would have been wonderful to spend the summer in the South registering black voters in 1964 or 1965. Of course, in a…
-
The Church Goes to Africa
This is an Ignatian (imaginative) take on a New Testament passage and a poetic intrepretation of two passages from the Book of Isaiah. This is a picture of a scale model of Jerusalem as it was in about 72 A.D., just before it was destroyed by the Romans. It is at the Israel National Museum…
-
The Last Gospel –Road to Emmaus
When I was about 12 my mother made a banner for Advent and Christmas. It had a red felt background with gold piping and her calligraphy on it. It started, “In the beginning was the Word…” This was at a time when the only other banners that I knew of were the ones at the…
-
Veterans’ Day – Hill Street
My father never tried to discuss his military service with his children. Nor did he ever condemn or condone my status as a conscientious objector. Though I think he was proud to have served, he didn’t think any special virtue should be ascribed to him because he did. I feel similarly about being a conscientious…
-
Waking Up on Hill Street
Hill Street was my first world. There was a big field across the street that once belonged to the Hill family. Across the field was a friend to play with and pretty soon twins my age moved in next door. Mrs. Hill, a widow, lived next door to us on well kept and completely fenced…
-
Introduction
I am a child of God and so are you, and I am a child of a small town of the Pacific Northwest. I have ancestors who were Irish, Welsh, and Scots with a little Polish and French and an even smaller part Native American. I am Catholic and Protestant and pagan. I grew up…
-
Belonging to Prayer
No one I know has found the keys to the kingdom of prayer. We cannot force God to stumble over us as we sit. It’s a good idea to sit anyway so every morning that’s what I do, waiting and making friends with the habit of listening believing that I’m being listened to by Jesus.…