Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

talking to myself

  • entries
    3,453
  • comments
    1,768
  • views
    794,579

About this blog

personal stuff

Entries in this blog

Advent Peace

Advent Peace Waiting is what Advent is about, in times of stress to focus on what is important, to choose to not lose hope, or to become bitter, which is not difficult to do, to sink takes no effort, but to hope, to love, to continue to do what is right, to see Christ Jesus in those around us is a deeper choice, dying to old ways and allowing Christ Jesus in. Do not fear, all are loved, treasured by our Heavenly Father, Jesus took flesh to tell us, and to show us that love-Br.MD

markdohle

markdohle

Advent and hope

Advent and hope “The season of Advent restores … a hope which does not disappoint for it is founded on God’s Word. A hope which does not disappoint, simply because the Lord never disappoints! … Let us think about and feel this beauty.” —Pope Francis   There is a lot of glitter during the Advent and Christmas season.  In fact, for the most part, Advent is not even averted too.  Right after Thanksgiving, or in some cases sooner, it is the Christmas season.  There is no ment

markdohle

markdohle

Advent and grief (a talk)

Advent and grief (a talk) When I think of the concept of longing and then mixed it in with the experience of grief, I always get the feeling, or perhaps the picture, of a deep, dark and cold ocean, a place of feeling alone and isolated…. for what was once a bright inner relationship with another, is now empty and only a void remains. Add to that the feeling that others don’t understand what is being gone through; or perhaps being incapable in showing respect and understanding in how uniquel

markdohle

markdohle

Adoration is not a Waste of Time

Adoration is not a Waste of Time Love me, then, and trust in My love for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to inflame you with the same fire of love that burns in My Sacred Heart and in the hearts of all My saints. It is in the prayer of adoration that this love grows strong, becoming a fire that gives light and warmth to all who approach it, burning in the hearts of My loved ones. A Benedictine Monk. In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart --The Journal of a Priest at Prayer (p. 232). Angelico

markdohle

markdohle in personal reflection

Admitting my fear

Admitting my fear A God who draws near out of love, the Holy Father continued, walks with His people, and this walk comes to an unimaginable point. We could never have imagined that the same Lord would become one of us and walk with us, be present with us, present in His Church, present in the Eucharist, present in His Word, present in the poor, He is present, walking with us. And this is closeness: the shepherd close to his flock, close to his sheep, whom he knows, one by one.—Pope Francis (6/

markdohle

markdohle

Addictions, anxiety, intelligence and the NDE

Addictions, anxiety, intelligence and the NDE There is a saying “talk is cheap” and it is very true. For me to talk of ‘trusting God’ no matter how bleak things get is easy to expand on, but not so easy when I am in the midst of some inner turmoil, or worse, an inner void. While it is true that suffering of any kind can be a wake up call, it can also be a lure that leads into further estrangement from reality by seeking escape in that which will only make things worse. Food, overwork, sh

markdohle

markdohle

Accosted in the name of truth

Accosted in the name of truth A week ago, right after community Mass, I had a run in with one of our guest. Nice young man, very conservative, devout and thinking about entering the priesthood. He was upset over how we relate to certain types of guests who stay in our retreat house. He was forceful, perhaps angry and seemed to be demanding that I respond in a very specific way. Which of course I could not do, for what he was demanding from me was unreasonable, though in his own mind, of

markdohle

markdohle

Accosted in the name of truth

Accosted in the name of truth A week ago, right after community Mass, I had a run in with one of our guest. Nice young man, very conservative, devout and thinking about entering the priesthood. He was upset over how we relate to certain types of guests who stay in our retreat house. He was forceful, perhaps angry and seemed to be demanding that I respond in a very specific way. Which of course I could not do, for what he was demanding from me was unreasonable, though in his own mind,

markdohle

markdohle

Accosted in the name of truth

Accosted in the name of truth A week ago, right after community Mass, I had a run-in with one of our guests. Nice young man, very conservative, devout and thinking about entering the priesthood. He was upset over how we relate to certain types of guests who stay in our retreat house. He was forceful, perhaps angry and seemed to be demanding that I respond in a very specific way. Which of course I could not do, for what he was demanding from me was unreasonable, though in his own mind, of cours

markdohle

markdohle

According to our capacity to love, in that we

According to our capacity to love, in that, we heal Act as a physician of souls. I will show you how to bind up the wounds of the heart, even the most delicate ones, and how to care for those whom I shall send you, so that you may heal them in My Name by loving them with My Heart. A Benedictine Monk. In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart-- The Journal of a Priest at Prayer (pp. 4-5). Angelico Press. Kindle Edition.   It is not about performance but allowing the life of Jesus Christ

markdohle

markdohle

Accompany

Accompany To accompany is to be with, it is not about control. It is about listening, understanding, encouraging and when the time is right to challenge as well, but in ways that will encourage deeper trust in the process that God is leading them through.

markdohle

markdohle

Accept the reality of God's love

Accept the reality of God's love It is difficult to accept the love of God. Why? Because it is not understood, how could it be…..infinite love? We like to box it in, make God’s love not much different than ours, with all of the limitations of human love. It is safer that way; it gives us the illusion of control. Yet God’s love is something else all together. We long for love, kill ourselves in looking for it in the wrong places, yet our thirst continues. Our longings are the wound of

markdohle

markdohle

Accept or fight

Accept or fight In my experience in working with the elderly, I am often humbled by the way in which they accept diminishment in their lives. I have always thought that as we get older year by year, we are all slowly backed inexorably into a corner. It is simply part of the process we must go through as we age. This process of course is faster for some than for others, and no two people adapt to this in quite the same way. I am not sure that there is a right way to adapt; each seems to hav

markdohle

markdohle

Abudant life

Abundant life What does it mean to have ‘abundant life’; the life that Jesus seeks to give us? He speaks of living waters that will flow out of our hearts. He is the living water, so this abundant life is talking about union with God, becoming one with God in Christ Jesus. Often times our faith can come across as stilted, life denying and fear based. I think this is normal, since we all mature in our faith and grace seems to work from deep inside and outwards…. like a deep well filled w

markdohle

markdohle

Absurdity

Absurdity When I was young, I came upon the quote: “life is absurd”. I am pretty sure it was from Camus, for I spent some time in my middle twenties reading him extensively, for a year or so. I think I kind of got it, yet as I get older this quote has become more and more real for me. It is obvious to me that as a species we are far from rational, well at least in the way we live our lives, treat each other and our environment. There seems to be a strong self-destructive streak that is perh

markdohle

markdohle

Absurd at times

Absurd at times Life can seem empty, grey, and absurd for me at times. The energy that seeks something to rest in is denied me and when I go inward I can often experience the same colorless void. I get restless, though I know that running hither and thither will do no good. Ever so slowly I have come to understand that if I feel dry and nothing seems attractive to me, then I have learned to simply wait, for it will pass. Home is being in the moment, not running from, it is only then tha

markdohle

markdohle

Abstruse

Abstruse Talking is cheap, writing about the Christian path is cheaper still, and anyone can do it. By touting high sounding words… that can just be icing over nothing at all….zilch underneath--- sort of like cotton candy, just not very sweet to the taste. Quoting scriptures can be the most insidious of all, for it is easy to line up all kinds of scripture to back up some pre-conceived idea about how it all works. It is not always about doing, though that is important, it is what we are,

markdohle

markdohle

About waiting

About waiting Trips to the emergency have a sameness to them, though like everything else in life, each unique, the mixture different, the person I am with almost never the same. Get them in, paperwork filled out, then setting down and waiting, the triage nurse calls you in, information given, then back out to wait, something I am used to; waiting. Don’t mind it at all really, I bring my reading, I have my New Testament with Psalms’ and Proverbs, a couple of other books to fill in

markdohle

markdohle

About Philip

About Philip (Died in 07) Philip’s good days now outnumber the bad, he is mostly mellow, smiling at everyone calling each by different names throughout the day, at times he even gets the names right, though most of the time we carry some image of his past, people that he loved now gone, yet for him they are still there. At night his room is full, family members come in and visit, perhaps it is a party, yet only he can see them. Having animated conversations, laughing, pointing,

markdohle

markdohle

About my oldest brother Skip and some things about Panama

About my oldest brother Skip and some things about Panama Being part of a large family is something I am proud of. Also being one of the oldest, I being the third of 11…. I believe is another perk. As the family grows so does certain kinds of responsibilities, so it does lead to the development of skills that can come in handy when older. My brother Skip is seven years older than me. Being the oldest I believe was difficult for him. My mother had eight children in rapid succession an

markdohle

markdohle

About choice

About choice People have different understandings about faith, what it is, why some have it and others don’t and also as one matures, the above understandings change, it seems to be a life long process. A slow maturing that never ends, an ever deepening adventure for those who are on the path, pilgrims who learn to deal with uncertainty along with the deepening of faiths roots. I would say for me, at this time, faith is a choice, one that I make everyday. There are times when I am praying,

markdohle

markdohle

About abortion, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice

About abortion, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice (Those who disagree can come from a place of compassion as well.) A good friend of mine, who is not a Christian, but a thoughtful man, actually like a brother, wrote me and disagreed with my post on the 'Down Trodden".  He is a man who does care for others, we just start from a different place.  He did mention in his note to me that if Universal Contraception was available it would take care of a good deal of the problem.  His name is Marco and if a

markdohle

markdohle

About a friend of many years

About a friend of many years It was Monday morning when my cell phone rang; it was about 10 AM. When I saw who it was from, I felt some apprehension as I answered the call. It was Mike, the eldest son of one of my best friends, Fred; who for the last few years, has been in last stage Parkinson’s and suffering deeply from its ravages. Mike informed me that Fred was being taken to the hospital for a urinary track infection; he will keep me informed and then hung up. This of course saddened m

markdohle

markdohle

About a friend of many years

About a friend of many years (written in 09) It was Monday morning when my cell phone rang; it was about 10 AM. When I saw who it was from, I felt some apprehension as I answered the call. It was Mike, the eldest son of one of my best friends, Fred; who for the last few years, has been in last stage Parkinson’s and suffering deeply from its ravages. Mike informed me that Fred was being taken to the hospital for a urinary track infection; he will keep me informed and then hung up. Th

markdohle

markdohle