Larry Peterson writes about the Catholic understanding of death and the human experience of bereavement.
I Lift My Gaze
“That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” ~Walt Disney When I heard Walt Disney’s quote in the movie Saving Mr. Banks a few weeks ago, I knew that he had hit upon a powerful truth. Little did I realize at the time […]
To Her Husband, the Only Thing that Mattered was the Arrival of the Priest
By Larry Peterson Lee and Shirley Mae had moved from Pittsburgh, PA, to Pinellas Park, FL, back in 1984. Lee, a World War II veteran who served in the South Pacific during the war, had met Shirley Mae at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport years before. Lee, a widower, worked for […]
Does God send us “signs,” to let us know He has heard our prayers? You Decide.
By Larry Peterson Looking into her eyes, he said, “There is victory over death.” I recently attended a funeral Mass, and during the few minutes before the Mass started, something extraordinary happened. I believe God sent a messenger to share with all those in attendance an affirmation of what we […]
Allow No Regrets into your World on Father’s Day
No matter the past, tell him you love him and hug him tight. You do not always get a second chance. By Larry Peterson My dad died suddenly during Christmas season of 1965. Yes, a long time ago: December 30, to be exact. Due to that, I have carried a […]
Being able to celebrate new life while grieving death: the Mass made it happen
In our Catholic world, March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation. Yes, this is the day the Holy Spirit came to an innocent, pure teenager in Nazareth and announced to her that God wanted her to be the Mother of the Messiah. Mary said, “Yes.” It was a day to […]
It’s Perfect – Not!
By Janice Lane Palko It was Father’s Day weekend thirty-one years ago. Married only a couple of years, my husband and I had moved into our first house that previous January. We’d spent that spring painting, wallpapering—the things you do to get a home into shape. On Saturday of that […]
This Year, Experiencing Death and Resurrection during Holy Week became a Personal Reality
Author’s note: The following was written during Holy Week. It has to do with my wife’s death, funeral and the fresh grief that followed. I thought I should share it here. Marty’s funeral was April 6th. Everything was perfect; the Mass, the music, the people, the cemetery and the traditional […]
The Extraordinary Powers of the Catholic Priest–Imparting the Apostolic Pardon
My wife, Marty, passed away on March 27. Some of you may have seen my posts over the past few years about her ongoing battle with cancer and then Alzheimer’s Disease. No matter; what killed her was an infection called sepsis. It went to her heart and that was that. […]
Lazarus of Bethany: A Novel, By E. Ann McIntyre
Fictionalized representations of biblical characters often miss the mark. Nevertheless, the Bible serves as a vast treasury of plots and characters, including intriguing hints of narratives read between the lines. One of the most fascinating but little-known characters in the New Testament is Lazarus of Bethany—The Friend of the Lord. […]