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...
In our first article, Lessons From the 49ers, we took a deeper look at the formation period for Carmelite nuns as presented in St. Teresa’s masterpiece, The Interior Castle. We saw that she puts the formation of her nuns as...
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...
On January 8, 2022, Crisis Magazine published an article by Mary Cuff, “The Beauty of Austerity.” In her article, Ms. Cuff presents St. Maravillas de Jesús, the Spanish Discalced Carmelite and Foundress, as the model and patron saint of resistance...
When I was about ten years old, I started writing a series of short plays about “Big G” and His Son. They were cute and funny, but more importantly, they were my young self’s attempts to express my faith in...
During today’s General Audience address, Pope Francis spoke about St. Joseph’s role as the legally-recognized father of Jesus. He speaks about how the Gospel writers handled his status—Matthew and Luke refer to him as the “foster father” of Jesus, Luke...
Of all the decorations that we put out for Christmas, my favorite are my Nativity scenes. Over the years, I have collected many different portrayals of Christ’s birth – from paper cut-outs to nesting dolls – and each offers a...
At 3 a.m. yesterday morning, the predicted snow arrived, dropping a beautifully unbroken blanket of fresh white over my yard. This was the first “real” snow in almost two years, last year’s winter feeling almost like what my parents in...
Today, January 1, 2022, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, as well as the 55th World Day of Peace. During his homily at Mass today in St. Peter’s Basilica Pope Francis returns to the theme of the...
Because my parents live in lovely southern California, I have regular access to that land of ultimate commercial happiness: Disneyland. Unlike other theme parks, Disneyland is all about the story, the stepping into a world of what could be—which also...
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