THE TRIQUETRA OF LIFE: Wisdom, Wealth, and Wellness

My Healing Journey

“During a nervous breakdown in my early twenties, at the time of the John F. Kennedy assassination, I stumbled into a labyrinth of life that few have ever experienced.”

RMDell’Orfano

April 3, 2024

Wellness

cost of Christian discipleship, jfk assassination, leonardo Da vincie, metanoia, nervous breakdown, penniless pilgrimage, rebirth, Vietnam War, Yale Graduate school

Sacred Greens

A former boy caddy wonders why grown men pursue a little white ball—and discovers in golf a religion of silence, ritual, confession, and jubilation.

RMDell’Orfano

August 21, 2026

Autobio

Bobby Jones, caddying, confession, contemplation, fellowship, golf, penance, Religion, ritual, sacred space, self-discipline, silence, spirituality, stillness

Table for Two

An aging writer confronts lost friends, loneliness, noisy socializing, and chosen solitude—and discovers that living alone does not necessarily mean living without companionship.

RMDell’Orfano

August 14, 2026

Autobio, Psychology

aging, alcoholism, Companionship, COVID-19, elderly, faith, friendship, hearing loss, living alone, Loneliness, nursing homes, senior centers, seniors, social isolation, solitude, spiritual companionship, writing, Zoom

Mama:The Iceman’s Here

A reflection on a century of technological progress, from East Boston’s close-knit neighborhoods to today’s digital isolation, asking what we may have lost along the way.

Dowsing: Fraud, Demons, or God?

An engineer’s firsthand encounter with dowsing leads to a historical exploration of science, Catholic thought, and the enduring mystery of divining rods.

After abandoning a crowded medical laboratory, an unexpected inner prompting led me to make a U-turn toward another location. What happened next left me wondering whether adults explain away what children readily recognize. This reflection explores providence, coincidence, and Jesus’ invitation to become like little children.

A Beautiful Conch Shell

Can magnificent churches become a beautiful but hollow conch shell? A reflection on the Sagrada Família, Church reform, sacred architecture, and faithful renewal.

RMDell’Orfano

July 15, 2026

Religion

Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona, Catholic Church, Catholic spirituality, Christian history, Church reform, Cluniac Reform, Counter-Reformation, holiness, Martin Luther, sacred architecture, Sagrada Família, simony, spiritual renewal, SSPX, St. Henry II, St. Odilo

Much More Than Food

Before I was born, an Italian family table taught me that food was never just nourishment—it was love, gratitude to God, and the first lesson of faith.

RMDell’Orfano

July 10, 2026

Autobio

Catholic spirituality, Christian faith, family table, family traditions, gratitude, Italian heritage, John 6, love, memoir, Sicilian cooking, tomato sauce

Beyond AI: The Real Challenge

An engineer reflects on WPI in the 1960s, the rise of artificial intelligence, and why lived experience—not information alone—remains the true path to wisdom.

The Pause That Refreshes

A Coca-Cola analogy explores the dispute between Vatican,and SSPX, both missing the original active ingredient phased out long ago

Munching on Mars Bars

As a boy, I munched Mars Bars, read Jules Verne, and dreamed of rockets. Decades later, from Sputnik and Apollo to Elon Musk’s Starships, I find myself asking a different question. Mars may be humanity’s next destination, but the most difficult frontier I encountered was never millions of miles away—it was within.