Religion

 Years ago, we hummed a tune regarding the three R’s –– readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic –– all taught to the tune of a hickory stick! Nowadays, we’ve retained the infamous R’s and denounced the punishment of the hickory stick. We try to make education available to all. Sometimes, our success is called into question, but always we make the attempt. However, I wonder if we give short shrift to a fourth R, or even stop to consider it a crucial component in the educational process. The fourth R is relationship.

I am Thomas. I am also called Didymus, the Twin. Actually, my name is Judas, but because there were so many with that name, including one who became infamous as a traitor, I gained the name Thomas. Yet my heritage — the way people remember me, with a degree of hesitancy because I remind them of their own trepidations — names and claim me as Thomas, the Doubter.

I am always amazed at the synchronicity of things. Just when I think I have an interesting, even unique idea for a column, a multiplicity of similar topics appears before me. It happened again during the Christmas season –– a time when I crave quiet and am bombarded with noise mimicking joyfulness. Richard Rohr, now my daily companion, presented a series on silence. His thoughts and mine coincided!

 By Fran Salone-Pelletier

It was Valentine’s Day, just a month ago. Hubby Dear and I were home enjoying a warmth neither thermostat nor outdoor thermometer could offer. It was our weekend conversation time. We were recounting the week’s events with a renewal of wonder that we were alive and kicking despite the aches and pains of aging. Our stories bore a repeated gratitude for all we have been given and received across the years.