Yes, it’s Halloween.  A holiday I loved as a kid but as an adult with children long grown and on their own — I have to admit.  I am over it.  And I have been over it for quite a few years.  But all of this is beside the point of this post!  More important than the jack-o-lanterns, the candy, the decorations, and the home-turned-haunted-house is the fact that it is the eve of All Saints Day, and don’t forget that All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation. Obligation:  noun — An act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or…

Here’s a little tip:  We all have experienced at one time or another during our life someone who simply can’t be pleased by anything we say or do.  In fact, that person may be displeased with simply anything and everything that we are associated with – and no matter how hard we try, they remain unmoved by our efforts.  In my experience, I have always taken these sort of things personally, struggling with trying to understand what I could have possibly done (unknowingly) to injure that curmudgeon in such a way that I experienced a mini-ice-age every time we would come into contact with each other.  You try being polite. …

There are times in our lives when we have to be open to change and it can be a very difficult pill to swallow. The real challenge is making change happen when things appear to be going smoothly and the status quo is an established and familiar routine.  We never exist in a state of perfection – to be perfect would be to be God, so we know that there is always room for improvement on a personal level, but this applies to duties and vocations as well.  And that can be scary. Breaking new ground? Establishing a new way of doing things? Designing and implementing a new program? Making…