author, writer, editor
Barbara 
Mercy and compassion flow naturally from gratitude. I’ve seen this exemplified in people who have instinctively grateful personalities. One especially inspiring, grateful-by-nature person I’ve observed was Dr. Lester Sauvage. I was lucky enough (and very grateful!) to work with him on his final book Opening Hearts, which was his treatise on everything he found important: … Read more
Christmas is a holy day commemorating extreme vulnerability. Jesus coming into the world as a tiny infant connects him to every other human being. In Jesus we see God’s vulnerability. Vulnerability, according to Brene Brown, PhD, a sociologist and researcher, is the willingness to say I love you first; it is a willingness not to … Read more
Mother Teresa (who is about to become a saint) once said, “We can do no great things. Only small things with great love.” This provides us the way to approach mercy, compassion, and peacemaking. Saint Teresa of Calcutta (as she will be canonized) was influenced by St. Thérèse of Lisieux , a nineteenth century nun … Read more
Today on the first day of our Novena of Peace, Pope Francis invites us to “become islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference!” Seeing the Sacred in all things will be the Spark that lights our way. Seeing with Merciful Eyes Changes Everything Our world is infected with religious fundamentalists who … Read more
Prayers & Questions for Meditation & Reflection STEP 1: In preparation for your time of meditation and prayer, find a quiet place where you can sit or recline comfortably. Take a moment to center yourself. Call all of your being into this moment leaving all your cares and worries for another time. Breathe deeply. If … Read more
Violence versus Peace: A Global Struggle It may seem that the world is becoming more unstable, more violent, less compassionate, and less forgiving. In many parts of the world, and for many people, that is true. Death and destruction—both the real and imagined as entertainment—gets an awful lot of media attention, which adds to the … Read more
On the final day of our Novena of Peace, it is important to recognize that conscious awareness turned into compassionate action is the truest path to peace. We become instruments of peace by understanding our ability, responsibility, and power to embrace peace, become peace, and share peace. You can easily insert the word “love” in … Read more
When I wrote last year’s reflections about the Servant’s Way, I had no idea how much they would resonate for me throughout 2014. In November of 2013, I was contemplating what I would do for my Novena for Peace and it occurred to me that the Prayer of Saint Francis was the perfect backdrop for … Read more
Two of the many meanings for joy in Webster’s dictionary are: state of happiness, and the emotion evoked by the prospect of possessing what one desires. In our modern world, the media uses “the prospect of possessing what one desires” in countless forms of advertising and entertainment. The implied promise is that a product, idea, … Read more
On day six of the novena, we are encouraged to bring light into the darkness. In the dead of winter in the Pacific Northwest that I call home, this is a powerful image. Our winter days are short with darkness settling around us more than light. Yet following the winter solstice, the few minutes of … Read more