By Deacon John Degano
It’s not Christmas until Jesus lies in the Manger
Several years ago Cheryl and I had the opportunity to be on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana during Advent. We had come to a social justice conference and were being shown about by our friend and diaconate formation director, Father Bob Nogosek, CSC, when we realized that there were Nativity scenes in every building and in some cases, multiple scenes.
By Deacon John Degano
The temperature outside was in the high 90s to low 100s. The water temperature was 87 – 89 degrees. And my friend with the pool was at Kmart attempting to buy chlorine.
She walked quickly past the aisle with the Halloween costumes and another one with fake Christmas trees and room décor but when she arrived where the pool products were kept, she was informed that it was a ‘seasonal’ item and they no longer had it in stock.
By Deacon John Degano
I attended a wedding of the daughter of a co-worker recently and heard the familiar words, “For this reason a man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home…” And I wondered if the couple truly understood what changes in their lives these powerful words meant.
In the movie “When Harry met Sally,” there is a scene where the newly married couple argue over a piece of furniture. He wants to keep it. She thinks it’s hideous and refuses to let it remain in their house. In the end, the ‘yard sale’ wagon wheel table ends up at the curb.
By Deacon John Degano
I stumbled across a listing for my old college ceramics instructor the other day while surfing the Internet for an obituary I wanted to make reference to during the graveside service I would be celebrating at Riverside National Cemetery.
My teacher had not died (I am happy to report) but was alive and well and following his muse around the world and here in the Los Angeles basin.
By Deacon John Degano
It’s election season again. Not the presidential election, but the off-year state, local, school and public utility district elections. In some cases, it may even be ‘run off’ time for those races disputed in the November election.
Election signs are popping up on lawns and along street rights-of-way. Phone banks are churning out calls to registered voters and mail boxes are becoming receptacles for slick voter sheets that all look the same and question the veracity of the opposition candidates.
