If you are a Star Wars fan—or even just a general movie enthusiast—you likely have an opinion about Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It was a controversial film, in no small part because of how director Rian Johnson decided to depict the legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. The Luke we meet in this movie is […]
Christians are called to show mercy and to enact, through our physical, ordinary lives, God’s compassion for those who suffer and forgiveness for those who have caused harm. However, we tend to express well and pass along only what we have experienced personally. We do better if we have examples to follow, models of the […]
Their forgiveness was striking. Members of Charleston’s Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church lost nine cherished members in a terrifying shooting in 2015 and offered swift absolution. Holding back tears, Nadine Collier, whose mother was killed in the attack, said, “but God forgive you, and I forgive you.” Astonishing. Fast forward to the time of Pope […]
The notion that the spiritual life is a journey is so common that it’s a platitude. I worked for years in Catholic publishing. I’ve seen dozens of book covers depicting paths: rugged paths in the forest, manicured paths in lovely parks, paths over bridges, paths up mountains, paths across the desert. But the cliche isn’t […]
The other day, I was sorting through some old papers and came across the “Fall in Love” prayer by Joseph Whelan, SJ. His thoughts are so simple yet so profound. I was glad to come across them again. The first time I read these words, though, I was completely intimidated. It was my first Ignatian retreat, […]
Jesus promoted peace. He said at the Last Supper, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27) Then, after the Resurrection, Jesus’ first words to the disciples were, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19) Although it may at times seem that we are powerless to stop wars, violence in our […]
Sometimes I am frozen in fear by an event that makes me realize how precious and fragile life really is. During these moments, the mundane tasks usually accomplished without thought become weighty and difficult, because I am crushed by worry. Usually, though, these events ground me enough to remind me that the world we live […]
Do you have any idea how glorious the world around you really is? Consider the multitude of gifts of our earthly existence that are far beyond what our very limited human bodies can interpret or fully experience. While humans can hear from 20 to 20,000 Hz (vibrations per second), a bat can hear up to […]
