The movie Shadowlands is the story of C. S. Lewis and his wife Joy. At one point in the film, after finding out Joy’s cancer has gone into remission, one of...
Spirituality
Wash dishes Even if it is only breakfast dishes you do by hand, consider it an opportunity. You need not pray a psalm—in any ordinary sense—in order to make...
There is a rhythm to pipe smoking, a ritual even, one that allows you, if you let it, to enter into a state of contemplation. You must pack the pipe first, and...
Driving on a paved road not far from home last summer, I saw an injured snake, hit by a car, stuck by its open wound to the road. It was curling and writhing...
One night during graduate school, some classmates and I went out to a local brewery to celebrate the end of the semester. We each enjoyed one, maybe two, craft...
My friend recently asked me in an email conversation why I stay in the Catholic Church. “If that sounds confrontational, it’s not,” he wrote in his email. “At...
At my former parish I was the catechist for second graders, students for whom the chief focus and driving dynamic of the school year was, of course...
Once a week I take out the trash. It’s a bit of a journey, carrying the overstuffed bag down two flights of stairs, out a door, through a gate, and around the...
We all know the routine once Christmas enters the rearview mirror. Maybe we packed on a few holiday party pounds. Maybe we spent too much on gifts under the...
January is a month of possibilities, full of the hope and newness of a new year. In this spirit of renewal, we reflect on the past and discern our desires for...
