“Ugh! Not again!” I shouted, exasperated. “This stupid pop-up won’t go away!” “Um, are you OK?” a quiet voice asked. I jumped, having forgotten I was not alone. While I was trying to generate slides quickly for an upcoming retreat session, a young colleague was testing out microphones nearby. Three hundred retreatants were about to […]
A priest was obsessed about reminding parishioners to turn off their cell phones before Mass. He mentioned it at least three or four times before the service started. Then, just as he stepped up to give his homily, in a moment of total silence, a jiggling ring tone emanated from his own cell phone. Red-faced, […]
When the Museum of Biblical Art in New York hosted an exhibit some years ago called, “The Wanderer,” by Enrique MartĂnez Celaya, I was fascinated by its description: The exhibition explores MartĂnez Celaya’s immersion in a Western literary tradition rich in themes and imagery that project a deeply private existential odyssey. The Wanderer presents a […]
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, […]
