Life comes in seasons. Day, weeks, and months hit like waves on the shore. Depending on the tides, the weather, and the time of year, one area of the beach might be feet under water, or in the midst of powerful crashing. Some days are tough, but then on a nice clear day when all is calm, we can look back and reflect fondly even on the rough parts. That what the song Jour Meilleur by French rapper, Orelsan, is about.... Read more
Pareto’s 80-20 Principle The 80/20 Principle, or Pareto’s Law, is a pattern that has been observed in countless fields from economics and business to engineering. It notes that the natural distribution of many statistics is not even. Reality tends to show that roughly 80 percent of results are from 20 percent of causes. What does this have to do with Lent? Let’s see. Application of the Rule What is unique about the 80/20 rule, is that it is not always... Read more
I won’t pretend to believe that sports are religion, but if the NFL was, the Super Bowl would be Easter Sunday. Read more
Today is the Feast of the Presentation, February 2nd, and I am happy to present this first guest post at Formed by A Flame, written by my brother Normand Laflamme, titled A Light for Revelation. A Light for Revelation Simeon rejoices because he has now seen with his own eyes “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” (Luke 2:32) He has finally set eye on the Light, the one true Light that makes all darkness flee, just as the waters of “the... Read more
Happy Feast of St. Anthony! New to Celebrating St. Anthony’s Feast Last year I thought I’d try to do a monthly “Lives of the Saints” style article. I didn’t keep that up all year, but with the new year I thought maybe I would try again. When searching for which Saint I wanted to research and write about this month, I found it coincidental (or rather Providential) that St. Anthony, the desert father, was among the list of January names.... Read more
Christmas season hit me a little different this year. Happily, we moved into our house before Christmas, but we spent most of advent waiting, without our own home to decorate or prepare in. Because of this, I think my brain was reaching for something to make our new house feel like home for the season. I was thinking back to happy childhood Christmases and what made them special. For the first time in a while, I felt an overwhelming nostalgia.... Read more
Think back to your life one year ago. Did you make New Year’s resolutions last year? Did you keep them? The reality is that unless you were extremely intentional and disciplined about a practice, there are very few things that you did every day in 2024. Life is unexpected, it comes in seasons. Maybe our goals and expectations should match. Life Changes Life is full of change and unexpected twists. Even though I know it is coming every week, it... Read more
Tossing one object and catching it is a classic game of catch. Two objects thrown by each hand and caught is surprisingly more difficult; however, it is still catch being played simultaneously by each hand. Add a third item, and now you’re juggling. But what does juggling have to do with existence? We all Juggle in Some Way In middle school, I taught myself to juggle. I don’t know why. Maybe I had an aspiration of putting on an entertaining... Read more
“This saying is hard, who can accept it?” is what the apostles say after hearing Jesus say, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (cf. John 6:60 and John 6:56) The Eucharist is Hard to Accept This phrase appears in the Gospel reading this Sunday in John 6 which we have been reading for a few weeks now. John 6 contains the bread of life discourse where Jesus teaches about the Eucharist.... Read more
“Quality over quantity” is the common saying, as if one is better than the other. The quote implies that quality and quantity are different things. I prefer to see them as two measurements of one thing. Quality and Quantity The choice is not between quality or quantity. The question is not how good can I make it or how much can I make? Instead. It is quality and quantity. We need to evaluate how good can I make it if... Read more
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