Why does the thought of a circus creep me out? Until recently, I’d experienced only one back in my teens. Unlike folks who report being afraid of clowns, I...
Religion
Often during Mass, I see the Lord in my soul; I feel His presence which pervades my being. I sense His divine gaze; I have long talks with Him without saying a...
Faith, says Joseph Cardinal Tobin, is not what you do on Sunday mornings. It’s who you are. It’s how you see. It’s how you act. “A joke I use sometimes to...
I visited Peru in January 1997, graciously hosted by a family in Callao. My host, Carlos, and I were the same age, and he took me to a festival called...
At the center of our celebration are the simple elements of bread and wine. The wine used for Mass is much the same as any wine we might serve at our own...
The first meal ever recorded in the Bible was pretty sparse: a mythical piece of fruit. Today this would amount to a healthy snack. At the time, it was the...
I’d like to nominate Anthony of the Desert as this year’s patron saint. This third- and fourth-century Egyptian—he lived to be 105—kick-started the famous...
The logo for last year’s Year of Mercy, designed by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, depicts the Good Shepherd, who in his mercy takes humanity on his shoulders...
Life is more than we bargain for. The election results last November proved that, in an hour of frank astonishment for every side of the social debate. Behold...
My friend Tim worked in Jerusalem. One night he was invited to supper at the home of a Palestinian employee. Tim arrived at the single-room dwelling, where an...