When she spied one slender stalk topped by a scaly tip, my young daughter squealed and clapped gloved hands. The sprout had emerged just one inch, virtually...
Our Faith
I work with homeless and at-risk youth. I’ve been doing it for 42 years, during the first couple decades in or around New York City and for the last 20 years...
My 7-year-old recently entered a new stage of life: He got glasses to help him focus in the classroom. He even picked out frames that closely resemble mine...
The knife was in his mouth pirate style, the serrated blade turned inward. “No, no, no!” I cried. When I gently pulled the sharp object from my toddler’s lips...
Work, for the night is coming,When man works no more.—Gospel song by Annie L. Coghill (1854) A year before Dad died, I asked him, “Have you had a happy life?”...
I had recently given birth to my second child when I first encountered the idea of the “marriage debt.” My ex and I were Catholic converts, and we had become...
When I ask Padre Juancho, a Maryknoll priest in Bolivia, if there had been a particular priest who inspired his vocation, he says, “No. It was a horse.” He...
February is a gray and gloomy time in Western New York, the area of the country where I’ve found my home. The Christmas lights and decorations have come down...
As a former youth minister, I’ve played a lot of getting-to-know-you-type games in my adulthood. My main takeaway from all the icebreakers is that it serves a...
“Who do you say I am?” asks Jesus in Luke’s gospel (9:20). His words imply he’s not interested in doctrine or theology. He wants a personal response, not a...
