Not too long ago…well, a few years ago…okay, many years ago, in our parish, the McCoy family were doing pretty well.  Dad had a small business.  Mom was a teacher.  Nothing is ever easy, however.  They had three sons, all of whom had muscular dystrophy.  They were wheel chair bound, and needed constant care.  Luckily, thanks to her job with the school district, mom had good health insurance.  In spite of their disabilities, all three boys were in college.  They obviously had challenges, but they were a happy family. Then, one morning, the alarm clock went off, and dad rolled over to...

Eve and God were walking on the path One and one, together in the light Long before she ever felt His wrath Before she learned of wrong and right Listening to His words she felt it burn A fire in the center of her heart Eve saw there was much for her to learn And knowing this was keeping them apart Desire burned and then Eve understood There was something more than what she had Being one with God would be so good And things the way they were, were now so bad In that moment Satan took his place And gave to Eve the fruit of her desires Mother Eve, who saw God face to face Took that first step...

You may find yourself At the bottom of a pit Hurling curses At the filth and muck That hold you down And you may find Yourself below Gazing at an angry sun Above your head Stars behind the clouds But what eats at you More than flies that draw Blood from your veins Is that you must reach For hands to help you out Wilson/07

How many things I touched today In my pocket coins and keys And little scraps of that and this I lay my fingers where I please I guess we’re all of us inclined this way As if my fingers long to kiss Everything that comes along Especially when you say don’t touch As if touching things were wrong This life is good and I don’t want to miss One sensation; each one means so much Words and smiles may touch a heart From the moment we see light We touch our world right from the start For touch is how we come to be, as such And God knows nothing else could be so right Wilson/07

The Problem – A Silent Epidemic One in three teens will experience abuse in a dating relationship and two-thirds of them will never report it to anyone. Dating violence is not just dangerous, it is devastating to a young person’s health and safety. The effects of dating violence are long-lasting. Teens who experience abuse in relationships act out exhibiting higher rates of drug abuse, school drop-out, high-risk sexual behavior, acts of violence and suicide. The Solution – Education, Activism, Advocacy Everybody has the right to safe and healthy relationships—regardless of where they live,...

One of the nice things about being a teacher is that you do get some good vacations.  Of course, you’re not paid for the summer.  Many people do not realize this.  That’s why so many teachers look for summer work.  But you also get Christmas vacation and the legendary Spring break.  Teaching is such a demanding job, you need those breaks.  Rest is as important as work. Each year, during Spring break, my wife and I travel up the California coast to a place known as Big Sur.  Big Sur is not a town, per se.  It is a stretch of Highway One, just past San Simeon, leading up the coast to...

I can remember many years ago, lying in my bed in a great deal of pain. I had hurt my back. I had two herniated discs. Now for those of you who don’t know exactly what that means, it means that the gelatinous material that exists between two of my vertebrae had been punctured and was leaking out and making contact with the nerves that run through the center of the spinal column. Chiropractors refer to these as slipped discs, which calls to mind an image, which is somewhat less than accurate. A “slipped disc” makes you think of discs out of alignment. This is not the case. Imagine...

If there is one thing that gives me hope about my own feeble attempts to walk in a path towards God, it is the men who followed Jesus. You couldn’t ask for a thicker, slower, weaker, bunch of people. Time and time again, they fell on their faces in their attempts to find that path towards the universal spirit. Over and over, they failed to understand the message that was being given them until in exasperation, Jesus had to explain it to them, feeding them as if they were baby birds. And yet, as thick as they were, as slow, and as completely off the mark as they were so often, God, or Allah,...

A Pirate’s Last Words I am the last man of my kind And soon there’ll not be any Black spotted as I stand here With treasure not a penny You mean to see me here well hanged This hempen halter fit for me You’d hang me for a thousand slaves My human booty now set free But not a life I ever took That did not mean to take my head I took the ship, but spared the crew And for that you would see me dead How many fell in ‘61? Were slaughtered in your civil war? How many brothers, fathers, sons, Will see their families never more? But I am just a privateer And from the poor I’ve...

You know, I can’t go into a market or a restaurant anywhere near where I teach without some kid, or some parent coming up to me and talking to me. It’s part of the price you pay for that little bit of notoriety, albeit very local. I have a friend who used to live a couple of blocks from the school where she taught and every time she was out in the front yard doing the garden she found herself giving impromptu parent conferences right there in her front of her house. She moved. It must be very difficult for those people who are really famous. That’s one of the reasons that John...