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My Search for Communion
(Over the course of 2 months living in Switzerland, I have attended Mass in 4 different languages. Here are some thoughts thus far…) What does it mean to be in communion with others? What does it mean to be in communion with myself? What does it mean to be in communion with God? The search for these answers drives my thoughts. The search for these answers drives my actions. The search for these answers drives my soul. And with every attempt to satisfy my desire for communion, I find myself back in the pews of church. I find myself back in a community with those who speak a different language than me yet…
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The Universal Language of Sports
Sports are, without a doubt, an activity that brings the most profound emotions, feelings, and ways of being to the surface. They are primal activities that uncover human beings’ universal language. One of the best experiences of my life was undoubtedly walking into a professional baseball locker room at 17 years old, one of about 10 Americans on a team of 35. This experience shaped me in ways I am still unpacking today. It was the experience of being a minority, of not understanding the language spoken around me, of feeling my teammates’ profound differences yet discovering a commonality with them on the most basic human level. The fundamental lesson…
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To Bless the Space Between
As we walked down to the train stop on Sunday morning, the clouds separated to allow the Bernese Alps to come into view. As I watched, I immediately thought of my Pastor from St. Ann in Phoenixville, PA, and his insight into being able to “Bless the Space Between” in our lives. I knew I had to find his insight this week from my notes, for the “space between” was becoming visible to me right there in my view. If only I could recognize the same “space between” with my wife and children every day. For this is my daily prayer… Here are some insights from Rev. John J. Newns’s…
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Celebrating Earth Day
Experiencing Earth Day last week in Switzerland was striking to me. There wasn’t much talk. There wasn’t much of a fuss. So much so that if it hadn’t been for my boy’s school and Facebook, I would have missed it completely. I say that not because I don’t care about the earth but because experiencing Earth Day in Switzerland is more of a daily way of life and less about something to be used for political power, making a point, or making a lot of money. There is something engrained in the Swiss culture that respects the environment and, therefore, respects your neighbor’s environment as much. It is not necessarily…
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Seeing the Beautiful
On the one hand, they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” On the other hand, beauty is not as subjective as it seems. Maybe beauty is more about the ability to see or not. In other words, beauty is everywhere and in everything. My ability to recognize this in my life is somehow connected to joy. This makes me think then, what helps me to see? Switzerland is beautiful beyond words. The landscapes and mountains are indescribable—so much so that pictures do not do them justice. One result of witnessing this kind of beauty is that it captivates you, draws you in, and then sends you out…
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Happy Easter
He is Risen! Alleluia! One of the distinct ways we find truth in the Risen Christ is that His Church is alive 2000 years later. Here are just a few of the churches we saw while we spent Easter weekend in Lugano, Switzerland. Happy Easter!!
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Maundy Thursday
“The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, it produces Love.” – St. Thomas Aquinas (This painting is called “Last Supper” and is located in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels (Chiesa Santa Maria degli Angioli) in Lugano, Switzerland. Milanese Bernardino Luini painted it, sometimes called the “Raphael of the North”, for his art’s gentle expressions and calm beauty. We spent Easter Weekend (and the Paschal Triduum) in Lugano, Switzerland.)
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The Passion and the WC
We have been living in Switzerland for over a month now and are starting to get more comfortable with our daily activities and our home. Our sea shipment just arrived, so we have been united with our furniture, pictures, and other belongings. We are also settling in with our new Church community. We attend a parish that offers the only English-speaking Mass in Bern, Switzerland. The parish has not had a pastor for the last two years, so the Church community has a different priest to celebrate Mass weekly. All of that to say, for me, this has been a Lenten season void of the Christian community I have been…
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“Say You, Say Me”
Overall, the adjustment to living in a new country has been minimal. Switzerland is beautiful beyond words, and the people have been amicable. However, the everyday activities caused the most anxiety during the first week or so. For example, going to the grocery store. I would like to start by telling you a little about our village. We live in Worb, Switzerland. (In American terms, it is a suburb of Bern, the capital of Switzerland.) While most stores in the city can accommodate English-speaking patrons, shopping in the village of Worb is a different story. From parking to paying at the cash register, shopping for groceries has been one of…
