Catholic. Pastoral. Trusted.
May-June 2012 On Judgment Day, you will answer to FATHER GOD, not mother earth.” I saw this on a bumper sticker and was struck by the implication that we must choose between God and the environment. In our polarized political climate, encouraged by a sensationalist news ethos and a sound-bite culture,...
In 1990 South Africa, it was evident that political inequality had to change. Soon after President F. W. de Klerk made a speech to parliament in which he called for a nonracist South Africa, a joke started making the rounds: Two solutions were in front of the country, one practical and the...
Fiction
Kate tore the letter open eagerly. Letters from Dan were few and far between. Her eyes scanned the page in one fell swoop, looking for danger. Then her face relaxed and she went back to read for details. Kate always read letters from her children that way. She supposed all mothers did. It was the same way she looked her children over on the first meeting after a long separation. The kids called it “Mom’s assessment.” They joked about it, but they knew better than to try to hide anything from Mom.
Kate read as intently as she listened; picking up clues, probing for more. Letters, thought Kate, are very unsatisfactory, and she went back and reread the brief letter once more. Her face was troubled when she finally laid the letter down on the table in front of her. I have to show this to Ben, she thought. It’s not right to keep Dan’s letters from him. He loves Dan just as I do, and I would never forgive him if he kept a letter from me.
But Dan’s letters were becoming increasing foreign to both of them.
March 2012 Every year the story of the transfiguration comes around on the second Sunday of Lent. It’s a familiar tale: Jesus and the disciples climb to a high place, and Jesus goes walking in the clouds with Moses and Elijah, his face so bright the disciples can’t even look...
February 2012 Conversion in a perfect world would be as easy as grabbing one sublime moment of divine insight and riding it all the way to heaven. But we don’t live in a fairy tale. Life in God cannot be static. No matter how long or how hard we try,...
Educating the Underserved Q) What is the mission of the Cristo Rey Network and what benefits are evident from the organization? A) The Cristo Rey Network empowers thousands of students from underserved lower-income communities to develop their minds and hearts to become lifelong contributors to society. By providing students an...
January 2012 I come from a long line of storytellers—an uncle who can turn a nugget of memory into a family legend, a dad who wants everyone to understand “the rest of the story,” and a father-in-law whose favorite saying is “let me teach you something.” It’s a trait that has...
As we ring in this new year, we are given the opportunity to change our behaviors or attitudes. Catholics, of course, are encouraged to throw themselves wholeheartedly into this practice during Lent. However, counsel from all corners tells us there’s no time like the present to begin. So, too, with...
An old Chinese proverb says, “If your vision is for a year, plant wheat. If your vision is for ten years, plant trees. If your vision is for a lifetime, plant people.” To build a future, we must fill people with hope and equip them with the resources to get...
Earlier this year Pope Benedict XVI gave a series of weekly addresses on the Doctors of the Church. On March 30 he spoke about Saint Alphonsus, saying he “had a realistically optimistic vision of the resources of good that the Lord gives to every person.” A lot in that statement...
“Just where is your head?” Growing up, I often got lost in my own world instead of focusing on whatever was at hand. I’ve since learned that I take in information primarily through listening. Unless I make an effort, I tend to miss a lot of nonauditory details—especially visuals—and what...
Living them, teaching them It’s important for us to let the seasons breathe in their proper way and to let them shape our lives. Spring shows death giving way to life as buds blossom from what appeared to be dead bushes. Summer heat saps our energy and hurts us if...
Part 2 of 2 Many individual faults and failings led to the economic crisis of the past three years, and it’s important to recognize that every personal problem carries consequences for society as a whole. Our ability to order our society depends on our ability to order our lives. To...
A colleague insists my glass is not half empty—she says it’s below sea level. So when January rolls around, I’m tempted to crawl under the covers and hide until the warm winds lure me into sunlight. During these bitter-cold months my mind fills with thoughts that take rather than give...
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit...
May is the month for celebrating mothers, the women who teach us about love by communicating an acceptance and protection that tell us how important we are to them years before we understand their words. These same feelings of acceptance and security help us ratchet up our courage and take...