Earlier this month, I spent a week at Saint Andrew’s Abbey.  Located in the high desert of Valyermo, this community of seventeen Benedictine monks welcomes individuals and groups to take retreats with them.  Visitors stay in one of the Abbey’s guest rooms and can join the monks for daily meals and prayer.   I try… Read More

Earlier this month, the United States Surgeon General called for immediate action to address a public health epidemic. The problem Dr. Vivek Murthy named was not a new virus like COVID-19, nor was it a medical condition like cancer. It was a social condition with devastating consequences on the country’s mental, physical, and emotional life.… Read More

The 40 days of Lent are desert times.  The season, which extends from February 22nd to April 8th this year, reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the Judean wilderness (Matthew 4:1-2).  It recalls the 40 years that the children of ancient Israel traveled through the Sinai desert (Numbers 14:33).  Lent is… Read More