James Pyles's Blog, page 101

Contemplating the “Eve of Destruction”

Disclaimer/Trigger Warning: If you’re already nervous about what Donald Trump is capable of as President of the United States, you probably don’t want to read the following. Don’t you understand, what I’m trying to say? And can’t you feel the fears I’m feeling today? If the button is pushed, there’s no running away, There’ll be […]

Quoting: Who’s Calling Whom?

When we pray due to suffering, we usually think that the suffering comes because of external situations and hence we have to pray. But this is not correct. The very purpose of the suffering is that we should pray. By pouring our hearts out to the Almighty, we become closer to Him. Hence the suffering […]

Eira’s Lover

Aging widower Shannon Hart remembered the sound of the crackling of burning logs in the fireplace at home in the middle of a dark, quiet night as he stared across the low, rolling hills, watching fog freeze onto the widely spaced pine trees, a faint, unending dawn resting on the eastern horizon. Three weeks ago, his youngest […]

Quoting: Judge People Favorably to Avoid Anger

There is a mitzvah in the Torah to judge people favorably (Leviticus 19:15). When we fulfill this commandment properly, we will not get angry with others. Whenever you get angry with someone, it is because you are blaming him for doing or not doing something. If you realize that it’s not his fault, you won’t […]

Dueling Holidays

“Oh come on, Dave. Certainly during this Yuletide holiday you can celebrate with your family a little, put a present or two under their tree, herald the coming of your Savior. I’ll even wear mistletoe on the front of my waist tonight the way you like it.” Suzanne, winking naughtily, was pulling out all the stops […]

Quoting: Appreciate Being Asked To Help

Don’t complain that other people keep asking you to do things for them. If others come to you for help, it’s an expression that they believe you are a kind person. You might not be able to meet other people’s needs right now, but by being aware of their needs, you might think of a […]

Santa Lives in Arizona

Seventeen-year-old Humberto knew they’d never make it if they stayed with the mob, so hours before dawn, he took his Mama, his pregnant older sister Esmeralda, and his ten-year-old brother Joaquin and slipped into America just a few miles northwest of Nogales. “We are lost, Niño.” Mama was always worried. If they could make it […]

Quoting: Choose Your Words Carefully

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). If you were writing a newspaper article, you’d be sure to choose your words carefully. You’d even ask others to help edit what you wrote. It is equally crucial to watch what you say when speaking to your husband or wife. Your words […]

Resisting the Echo Chamber

Somewhere on Facebook, I saw an image of a familiar book cover, the cover to James P. Hogan’s 1977 science fiction novel Inherit the Stars. I remember reading it while my wife and I were on vacation in Europe in 1985, traveling with a Catholic choir group (long story). As with a lot of books […]

Lazarus From The Water

Middle-aged American Eric Holloway was thinking that it must be almost time for the miracle to happen again. He sat in a camping chair near the section of the shore of Loch Lomond facing Ben Lomond, one of the lochs someone wrote a song about, while chewing a mouthful of his onion bagel smothered in lox and […]