Sometimes you have a conversation that sticks with you, uncomfortably. About a month ago, I was talking with a bright, animated young college student about what was going on in politics since his major was political science. He was volunteering for Bernie Sanders during his winter break from school, so I decided to press him a bit about why he thought Bernie was the best candidate for President. “At a time like this, when the country has been so divided, don’t you…
It’s the time for New Year’s resolutions, and while there are many I should be making (concerning exercise, especially), I’m going to limit myself to one, far reaching as it is: get rid of the boxes. On one level, it is a practical resolution. We’ve lived in our new home for a little more than a year now, and it’s more than time to finish unpacking some of the boxes that got stashed away for “later.” Most are lining the unused guest…
When you get a glimpse of heaven, it’s wonderful and sad, all mixed up together. I had two such glimpses in the past month. They are with me every day now, coloring my horizon with a mixture of hope and despair, desire and depression. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of them. The last glimpse came a few weeks ago at my home church. It was during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Fr….
“That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. . . .” Luke 24:13-17…
We’ll be celebrating the Irish at the end of this week with parades, green beer and green rivers. Although only about 10.5 percent of Americans truly have Irish heritage, far more than that will claim a drop of Irish blood on St. Patrick’s Day, and people who forget (or refuse) to wear green will be chided (or “affectionately” pinched, according to a Wikipedia article). But it wasn’t that long ago in our history that most Americans hated and feared the…
I confess. I am addicted to reading the newspaper daily, and if I’m not careful, it wreaks havoc in my life. I’ve had this problem for years. It comes in part from my lifelong love of reading–ever since I learned to read, I’ve been pretty obsessive about it. I was the kid who read cereal boxes, who always left the library with as many books as I could carry, who filled every minute not required for other tasks with reading…
I first learned about my place in this world through a Lionel train set. Every Christmas while I was growing up, a Lionel train set ran around the base of our family tree. Until recently, I would have told you that every year as we set the train up, I heard my mother explain that it was the train my father bought before I was born. “It was going to be yours if you were a boy,” my mother said….
For years, when I taught English, I tried to hide my profession because whenever I met someone new, I often heard an embarrassed plea, “Oh, please don’t correct my English; I’m terrible at grammar!” I would quickly assure the person that I only corrected papers turned in for grades, so worry was needless. And I was speaking truth–I never noticed problems with spoken English, and didn’t feel responsible for correcting anything written (newspapers, magazines, letters) unless someone specifically asked me…
Every morning my cat Minerva drives me nuts. The moment I sit down at the kitchen table, she starts jumping up on it. And I start telling her–in no uncertain terms–to get down. “No,” I shout, and if I’m lucky, she jumps to the floor. Then, in less than 30 seconds, she jumps up again. “No, down,” I shout (she never responds to less than a shout), but it never works a second time. So I grab the nearby squirt…
“How can you stay Catholic?” a friend asked me recently. “For that matter, how in this day and age, can you believe in God at all?” I’ve faced these questions before–sometimes, I’ve been the one asking the questions of myself–and until recently my answers have dwelt on my personal experiences or my love of the ritual and Tradition (yes, capital T) of the Catholic Church.