“Memorial Day is as complex an observance as the history it represents. It is tempting to settle down into a free day off, enjoying our picnics and maybe a little car racing. But as Christians we’re called to observe a deeper complexity, a more complicated history of both service and betrayal, hope and disappointment.”

“…I asked Chris what he had read recently that made a huge impact. ‘With Open Hands,’ he said immediately, ‘a book on prayer by Henri Nouwen…Nouwen writes that so many of us come at prayer with a clenched fist instead of an open hand. We want things, are asking for things, have an idea of exactly what we want God to do. But real prayer requires the unclenching of a closed fist – that we instead be open, silent, and receptive to God.’”

When you see Chris at church, please introduce yourself and congratulate him on taking his vows to the novitiate. He is a diamond in our midst.”