This week it's Friday @ Lunch instead of Wednesday @ Lunch.
Aligned
What I'll remember most about the Disney trip wasn't a ride. It was the alignment.
Joseph and I spent three days at Walt Disney World last week - just the two of us. Thomas & Andrew have each had solo trips. This was Joseph's.
We never argued about where to go next. We never negotiated. We just agreed. One of us would suggest something, the other would nod, and we'd walk. Back and forth, his interests and mine, no friction.
A lot of time at Hollywood Studios - his favorite park. A fair amount at Magic Kingdom too. His favorite ride was the refurbished Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger Spin. We rode it three times.
And on one of the nights, we stayed for Fantasmic. In all our family trips to Disney, none of us had ever seen it.
It was worth the trip.
Read the full reflection: Aligned
First Day of School & One Week
Wednesday was the first day of school at Father McGivney.
Joseph walked into his junior year and Andrew walked into his freshman year.
Two sons, two thresholds, two releases.
Then next week, Suzanne and I fly to San Antonio to watch Matthew graduate from Basic Training.
Three sons in motion. Three kinds of sending.
Back Preaching
I'm back at the ambo this weekend - my first time preaching since the sabbatical began - since Father's Day.
The homily is about the power of words. How we use words for good or evil. How we use words in what we ask of God in prayer. The Collect this Sunday has the phrase "that our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found."
Words matter. What we ask for matters. Where we fix our hearts matters.
Ad Alta
Three new offerings launched this week at Ad Alta. Read more about them: AdAltaLeadership.com
Two Lamps
Issue 16: The Room at the Hospital
Saint Alberto Hurtado and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Santiago, Chile. August 1952.
Padre Hurtado is dying of pancreatic cancer. He has built the Hogar de Cristo - forty shelters for the homeless across Chile. He is wondering, in his last days, whether what he built will hold.
Bernard of Clairvaux comes to sit with him. Bernard, who died eight hundred years earlier wondering about his own preaching of the Second Crusade.
"I did not die in perfect peace. I want you to know this because I do not want you to think that the saints all die serene. Some of us die wondering. Some of us die with real questions. The Lord accepts the wondering."
Lux Perpetua
A serial novel in two tracks - mystery, memory, and the weight of what we inherit.
The Living Thread - Chapter 23 is live. The Lost Crown - Chapter 20 dropped yesterday.
Domus Formation
WeAreDomus.com/start - 7-day free trial. Download the & Altar app. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving - all in one place.
Final Word
We never argued about where to go next. We just agreed.
That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because you've been paying attention to each other for sixteen years (and you share a lot of the same interests!)