Reminding Me Where I’ve Come From
Story-telling is a thing right now, but it wasn’t when I sent a one-minute pitch to The Moth in 2013. I had been listening to the Moth on public radio stations for years: “True stories, told live, no notes.” And...
Tagged: hope
Third Space Podcast: Angela Sealana – The Abundant Life
In this episode of Third Space, Angela Sealana and I have a conversation about what it means to live abundantly as a Catholic today. More specifically, we talk about what hope looks like when it’s not misused to bypass lament,...
Pope Francis and the Prophets of Doom
Are you a hopeful Catholic or a “prophet of doom”? The furious response by the pope’s critics after he said in January that he hopes hell is empty might offer some clues. Regardless of denomination or sect, insisting on Massa...
I No Longer Call You Servant
I work with homeless and at-risk youth. I’ve been doing it for 42 years, the first few decades in or around New York City but for the last 20 years in Vermont. I’m an executive director, a role which entails...
On eagles’ wings
A reflection on the Readings for June 18, 2023, the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time In the first reading today, God tells Moses, “You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on...
Hope Never Disappoints
In his Wednesday General Audience today, April 5, Pope Francis spoke of the hope that arises from the cross, which is a true paradox. He began by asking “Where is your hope?” Do we, accordingly, place it rightly in Christ?...
Love – Disappointment – Hope: Living in an Abusive Church
I believe that love is a requirement for disappointment. I love the Catholic Church. I’ve shared this story many times, but during the summer following my high school graduation, at a Steubenville Youth Conference, I fell in love with Jesus,...
A faith built upon the love of God
Early in the pontificate of Pope Francis I was, generally speaking, what could be called a “Francis skeptic.” To be honest I didn’t pay that much attention to him at first. As the father of three little kids, I primarily...
The Lord has not forgotten you
The Advent and Christmas seasons are emotionally impactful for me, even more than Lent and Easter. How can this be? Lent prepares us for Christ’s Passion and on Easter we celebrate his Resurrection. It is when we celebrate how he...
The Synod, Christian dialogue, and a lesson on hope
When the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops released its preparatory document for the Synod for a Synodal Church in September, one of the items highlighted was a statement that “dialogue between Christians of different confessions, united by one...
Advent is a Season of “Hoping With”
My very liturgically-minded husband strongly believes—and advocates for—the correct implementation of the Advent season. It starts with no decorations before December 17 (that’s when the “O Antiphons” begin.) It continues with observing the emphases of the two foci of Advent’s...
The hour of the People: Pope Francis and the Post-Covid moment
Dr. Austen Ivereigh via Zoom to Archdiocese of Boston Social Justice Convocation, November 13, 2021 Perhaps it’s the Gospel readings we’ve been having that make me want to share some ideas about how Pope Francis sees our present moment: in...
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