A few weeks ago, we watched a CBS 60 Minutes Presents segment about a project run by the USC Shoah Foundation. They record intensely detailed interviews with Holocaust survivors; using artificial intelligence, they are then able to use these interviews...
My family has a tradition of creating collages of items that ground or inspire us—pictures, quotes, and various other odds and ends. I’ve created such collections at home and at work. They serve as a sort of public declaration, proclaiming,...
During my junior year of college, I decided to take a semester of ballet. Though I was a Notre Dame student, I was a theatre major and, during the 1980s, most of the theatre courses were held at Saint Mary’s...
In the late 1980s, I traded in my computer for a chalkboard, swapped advertising clients for high school students, and became a religion teacher. Within a few weeks of my first day at that all-girls Catholic high school, we had...
Years ago, Catholic religious education abandoned memorizing questions and answers from the Baltimore Catechism in favor of construction paper, glue, markers, and “God is love” posters. Those of us who were children in the 60s and early 70s were not...
There are so many questions we ask to learn more about one another’s stories. During the first weeks of college, freshmen will typically ask each other questions like, “Where are you from?” and “What’s your major?”. Beginning a job, new...
When I was 27, I was cast as Louisa, the 13-year-old daughter, in a semi-professional production of The Sound of Music. Physically, it made sense especially since I looked at least 10 years younger than my actual age. My friend...
When most people think of the Camino de Santiago, they likely think of the journey through Spain. Rarely do folks think of Portugal, but that country is home to some of the oldest of the Camino’s routes, a northerly journey...
I am a lifelong Catholic. Born and baptized Catholic. Went to Catholic schools for 27½ years (I took the long route to get my first graduate degree!). My parents were very active Catholics which meant that we as children were...
I have a confession to make. I am, by training, a liturgist. As such, I cringe at the well-known joke—“What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with terrorists.”—both because there is a grain of truth...
A friend of mine and I have an ongoing debate about whether or not we should sing the song A Place at the Table. If you are unfamiliar with the song, the lyrics start like this. For ev’ryone born, a...
Rules, rules, rules. I’m a rule follower in general. During my school days, I wasn’t on a first name basis with the principal. I never got infractions or served detention. Rules just made sense to me. They set expectations and...
Popular Posts