Meditations
Lonely vs. Alone
May 11, 2026
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Loneliness is a part of the puzzle of life that we would rather not have to deal with. But it is probably as unavoidable as physical pain, or any other unpleasant experience in life. So it helps to find ways to deal with loneliness when we run into it.
Pay Attention!
April 16, 2026
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
As humans, we cannot “not” pay attention (unless we’re unconscious, of course). Our attention is always directed somewhere. We also have control about where we place our attention. The trick is learning to maintain control of our attention instead of letting it control us.
What’s Wrong With Me?
March 18, 2026
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Have you ever been nagged with the sometimes subtle, sometimes loud thought: “There’s something wrong with me”? I think we all have. If we want to be more at peace with ourselves, we need to deal with that thought.
Staying Sane in a Crazy World
February 10, 2026
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Many of us are feeling stress with everything going on in the world. Everything is up in the air, and you can’t count on anything anymore. Some level of chaos will always be a part of life’s puzzle, so it’s good to have some strategies to deal with it.
Practice, Practice, Practice
January 26, 2026
An Assembling God’s Puzzle video
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Changing the way we think about something involves getting the brain neurons to send signals to different neurons, to start connecting to each other in different patterns. This is where practice comes in.
Ties That Bind
December 9, 2025
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
We pride ourselves on being independent, self-made, with a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality. But we sometimes give in to the “group think,” attaching ourselves to a group, a religion, a philosophy and blindly follow the herd. Finding middle ground between these extremes is necessary for a satisfying, productive life.
Learning to Trust
November 12, 2025
An Assembling God’s Puzzle video
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Learning to trust in a relationship is challenging but necessary if one is to avoid a life of loneliness and isolation. I’m reminded of Jesus’ admonition to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Do You Hear What I Hear?
October 13, 2025
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
How can we avoid the harmful affects of the polarization that characterizes so much of our lives these days? One step toward this end is to cultivate a greater understanding and appreciation for the idea of relativity in human behavior.
Adversaries Needed?
September 19, 2025
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Movies depend on conflict between good and bad. We love it when good overcomes evil and all is well again. Plots like this entertain us because we wish real life was like that. In real life, though, no one is totally good and no one totally bad. Real humans are a mix of good and bad. And that feels uncomfortable.
To Be or Not to Be … a Cynic
August 14, 2025
An Assembling God’s Puzzle video
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Blowing off steam about everything that is wrong in the world — and there’s plenty of that — can be therapeutic, but if such griping becomes the norm of our conversations and thinking, we can easily slip into cynicism, which is not helpful and doesn’t feel good.