41. A lesson from a man who lived in the woods

Recently I have had occasion to revisit Henry David Thoreau and his most noted work, "Walden," which came to life as a result of Thoreau's experiment in living in solitude and relying totally on his own resources for his survival. He wanted to learn...

Thursday, 03 January 2013 | 1263 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

42. Prayers, healing and consolation for Newtown

How sadly poignant that we read from the Gospel of Matthew just three days after the celebration of Christmas, commemorating the feast of the Holy Innocents, "Then was what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,...

Thursday, 03 January 2013 | 173 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

43. Pro-Life Catholic or Peace-and-Justice Catholic? Yes

Growing up, I might've asked my dad something like, "Are we having dinner at Grandma's on Saturday or Sunday?" or "Is my basketball game at 1 or 3?" If my question had an "or" in it, the answer was always the same: "Yes." He would just say "yes"...

Friday, 21 December 2012 | 197 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

44. The Seven Deadly Sins – Sloth - An unrelenting and willful gloom and despondency

The spiritual ascetic St. John Cassian (360 - 435 AD), a contemporary of St. Augustine and influential intellectual resource for St. Benedict, once defined acedia as a "weariness or distress of the heart.... It makes the man [in this case, a monk]...

Thursday, 20 December 2012 | 318 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

45. Pro-Life Catholic or Peace-and-Justice Catholic? Yes

Growing up, I might've asked my dad something like, "Are we having dinner at Grandma's on Saturday or Sunday?" or "Is my basketball game at 1 or 3?" If my question had an "or" in it, the answer was always the same: "Yes." He would just say "yes"...

Thursday, 20 December 2012 | 341 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

46. J.R.R. Tolkien - The moral, Catholic world of ‘The Hobbit’

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." So begins the classic 1937 fantasy epic, "The Hobbit," written by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the 75 years since its initial publishing, Tolkien's tale has appealed to child and adult alike in its portrayal of...

Thursday, 20 December 2012 | 1808 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

47. Film shows the true character of a great president

Go see "Lincoln." Not because I own stock in its production company, not because it is an Oscar magnet, not because I am a Republican, but go see this film. It will show the true character of our greatest president at his best in the worst time in...

Thursday, 20 December 2012 | 192 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

48. A lifelong northerner prepares to develop a southern accent

Now that we are in the season of Advent, it is time to be thinking ahead to an important date on the calendar. The arrival of Christ is a singular event requiring preparation — of our homes, our hearts and most importantly, our souls. For at least...

Thursday, 20 December 2012 | 139 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

49. Thomas Hardy - A poet’s search for the unknown god

A gloomy Victorian writer who had one of his novels publicly burned by an Anglican bishop may seem an odd choice for spiritual reflection. Yet the poetry of Thomas Hardy - melancholy, despairing, even bleak - is a reminder that faith is both a gift...

Thursday, 13 December 2012 | 1514 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more

50. Church of England votes against women bishops

In a landmark decision recently, the Church of England, the mother church for the world's 80 million member Anglican Communion, voted against allowing women to become bishops at their General Synod held in London. Passage of any legislation in the...

Thursday, 13 December 2012 | 126 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Report | Read more