Michael McCarthy

The Place Matters It’s funny how things happen.  After 17½ years working in a primarily administrative position directing a youth and young adult ministry office for the Rockville Centre Diocese, I was now seeking new employment.  Since I liked what I did and felt good about the work I did …

“Since my earliest awareness, I have felt an unnameable force drawing and pushing me to be airborne, to soar, to escape rigid habits of mind, to fly free.” Sam Keen, philosopher and author of Learning to Fly: Trapeze – Reflections on Fear, Trust, and the Joy of Letting Go, always dreamed …

Sail on Silver Girl, Sail on by Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way ~ Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Michael McCarthy teaches at the Mary Louis Academy, a college preparatory high school for young women.) I think of the first time …

Think of something you enjoy. Music! A good conversation! Anticipation of a vacation! Affirmation! A job well done! Coffee on a quiet morning! The blue sky! Reading at the ocean! A game-winning hit! Think of someone who brings a smile to your soul? Your best friend! A child! A lover! …

Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof, upon hearing the announcement of his daughter’s engagement to Perchik: “He loves her. Love, it’s a new style… On the other hand, our old ways were once new, weren’t they?… On the other hand, they decided without parents, without a matchmaker!… On the other …

This poem is about my brother, but in another sense it is about each one of us. We are trying to make our way in this world. We want our lives to matter – to really matter. We start off young and eager.

What single line or short verse speaks to you from a favorite poem of yours? Such lines/verses are often wonderful nuggets of wisdom/truth/beauty. Take a moment to share this line/verse with the readers of this blog. Leave your selection in the comments section below, including the title of the poem …