MSI Press Blog

  \ LIFE’S JOY “What can separate us from the love of Christ?” --Paul of Tarsus   “I’ve never been happy. I don’t believe I’ll ever escape my misery,” my elderly patient lamented. She had suffered from anxiety her whole life. She was its prisoner. “I’m always worrying about something. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Anything can cause me to panic,” she explained.  I asked her, “Who would you be if you didn’t worry?” She responded honestly, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t know myself. That would be even scarier!” My patient had constructed an identity around her illness. She could not imagine living without it and the misery it caused her.  Another patient of mine was terrified of leaving the house. She insisted she wanted to feel free to go out and socialize, but still stayed home to feel safe. I asked her, “You say you want to go out, but still stay home. Which is true, what you say you want or what you do?” Both, in fact, may have been true. She felt hopelessly con...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -15-   When Native American medicine men talk to the sick, they usually ask three questions: When was the last time you sang? When was the last time you danced? When was the last time you told your story?   Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat   I grew up with loving parents who were passionate about music and whose tastes were… proper. My mother had been a professional opera singer in her younger years and played quite respectable classical piano into her seventies. My dad’s piano proficiency was quite a bit south of his wife’s, but he enjoyed playing and found his own niche and joy in performing choral music. When the radio was tuned to the Beatles and Monkees in my friend’s homes, in my home, it was the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B ♭ minor. When I was in seventh or eighth grade, my parents signed me up for after-school d...

photo by Stacey Gentry: Sula, parish cat at Old Mission/MSI Press "author" in the creche Shared by Dr. Dennis Ortman , author of a number of award-winning books -  CHRISTMAS STORY “ And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory. ” --John 1: 14   Even as a child, I knew that Christmas was about more than Santa Claus coming and getting gifts. The baby Jesus was born. In addition to the Christmas tree and outdoor lights, we set up a Nativity scene in our home. Our parents told us the story and introduced the characters. At school, we re-enacted the Christmas story. We all vied to play Mary or Joseph, but I ended up being a sheep. The nuns explained that the story was about the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, who came to save us from our sins. I wasn ’ t sure what that meant, but I knew it was a very happy occasion. We sang joyous Christmas carols at church and in the neighborhood. At home the family gathered to share a meal and exchange...