Feb 02, 2026

Living in Unconditional Love (253)

 

“Love flows from God to humans without effort:

As a bird glides through the air without moving its wings-

Thus, they go wherever they wish united in body and soul,

Yet separate in form.”

–Mechtild of Magdeburg

 

My wife Eileen died from esophageal cancer in February 2020 one year after being diagnosed, 60 years after we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill (not COVID), and I spent a total of six weeks being with him in Ohio, but he died in October 2020. My sister-in-law Sue Mahoney died from Covid-19 in January 2021. On top of it all stood the pandemic, locking everyone down almost two years. Covid has proved to be a persistent problem, and many of the long-term effects are quite serious, and it has proven much more serious than flu.

02/01/2026                                      *My web site was down on Sunday, 02/01, but came back on Monday, so here is then latest.

The storm last weekend left about 15 inches of snow or so here, but it has remained bitter cold since, seldom rising above middle double figures (15). I remain in my warm house seldom venturing out but to get the paper and mail, as I am starting to receive packages bound for Peru. The snow is beautiful, and the birds are busy at the feeder. I have seen no deer since fall, and I wonder if the Amish community that moved behind me have harvested them for the meat. On the plus side, I should have less damage in my garden, as the deer have really been hard on the leafy plants (rhododendron etc.) in the past few years.

I have remained isolated and that should reduce the chance of catching a cold or worse. I did not go to church last Sunday, but I should be able to go this Sunday. I did go on Tuesday but there were only three of us that day. I would prefer to arrive in Lima feeling well.

The sad events in our country over the past few weeks illustrate how tender are the roots of our country. It is sad to see the brutality of so many of our citizens on others and they feel justified in that brutality, as did the Nazi blackshirts. I find it ironic that many are dressed in black and are fully masked in that brutality, mirroring that regime of not so long ago – in my lifetime. It is even scarier that so many approve of that brutality and still call themselves Christian despite Jesus’s direct command to care for the foreigner and poor. I am amazed and uplifted at the number of people that show up despite the bitter cold to protest that brutality sponsored by our nation and saddened that such demonstrations are necessary.

Meditation

Gentle One, I offer to You my prayers and beseech You to bring back the compassion and caring nature that once formed the center of our once great nation. Yes, we are powerful in military might, but are poor in our willingness to care for the poor and marginalized, but I am uplifted at the response of so many against the brutal happenings. I beg Your forgiveness and am deeply saddened by the turn of leaders of this country.