When I was little, one of my favorite book series was the Emily of New Moon books by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The main character loves to write and makes friends...
The Examined Life
Walk slowly, and bow often. Mary Oliver nestles this sage piece of advice in the middle of her poem “When I Am Among the Trees.” It’s a poem I committed to...
In 2001 I celebrated my first Mass as pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Kingston, Jamaica. The church was filled with music, fellowship, and...
I’ve always been drawn to the Catholic liturgy,” a (non-Catholic) friend of mine once told me over breakfast, “but I can’t get past the Trinity. Three persons...
From death sprouts new life. I walk among trees that know the pain of dying. The wise elders that live in my local arboretum weather their share of storms...
On September 11, 2001, I was a junior at Fordham University in the Bronx. If I close my eyes, the memories quickly flood back: My roommate banging on the...
Last spring I made a spontaneous decision to observe Ramadan, the Muslim season of fasting and spiritual renewal. I did so after watching a news report of a...
Do you ever notice what you don’t see? Hang with me—I know the question seems strange. Those of us gifted with the ability to see count on our eyes to alert us...
The account of Jesus’ birth in Luke’s gospel is a familiar story. It relates a miraculous conception announced by an angel; a young girl’s trusting assent to...
I believe in the communion of saints. These words take flesh in the early morning quiet of my apartment. I sink into the worn recliner and flip open my Bible...