Labor Day Addendum: Welders, Blacksmiths and the Book of Sirach Consider the farmer whose mind is set on the furrows that he plows. He stays up late, tending the cattle. Consider, also, the blacksmith. The fire scorches his skin and the din of the hammer deafens his ears, yet he is intent on the tool he is shaping. (Sirach 38:25-26, 28) After hea...

It’s been a long, hot summer in West Texas. Even now, in September, the daily highs continue to register 100 degrees or more. I have done my share of complaining.  But my whining was tempered after conversing with a friend from a former parish. Raymond works as a welder at an oil refinery. When I asked if his shop was air-conditioned, he l...

How countless are your works, O Lord. The earth abounds with your creatures! (Psalm 104:24) A dog can determine the direction of a set of footprints after sniffing just five of them. Scallops have 200 eyes, each one the color of a neon blueberry. A chicken will starve to death if you cover its right eye because the left eye only detects di...