I was always uncomfortable with the narrative that the United States invented and perfected religious freedom. I grew up in the Midwest, perched self...
Sounding Board
This year I did something I swore I would never do: I ditched the parish pledge envelopes and signed up for automatic deduction. For years I had been...
Most people don’t dream of working for the institutional church; it’s not high on the list for childhood career days or suggestions of what to be when one...
Attending Sunday Mass last year over Independence Day weekend, I watched as the priest gave the final blessing and a man a couple rows ahead genuflected and...
A few months ago an immigrant family, including three children, sat outside my church at the conclusion of the 9 a.m. Mass with a sign begging for money:...
I learned more the time my sophomore floor mates and I tried pulling an all-nighter than I did in an entire semester of Statistics 101. With all due...
In 2012, exactly two weeks after Trayvon Martin was shot to death for being young and black and wearing a hoodie, I sat in a dark theater watching children as...
Some years ago, Eric Jacobsen wrote about the urban environment in Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith (Brazos Press). He outlined...
U.S. Catholic readers confess that sin isn’t what it used to be, but they still commit themselves to a virtuous lifestyle. Sounding Board is one...
We need to weed through the pros and cons of marijuana use before rushing into a decision on its legalization. Sounding Boards are one person's take on a...