When I was a young priest my mom sent me a short story about motherhood by twentieth century author Temple Bailey.  It had helped her find comfort and feel gratitude after her own mom’s death and she thought that it might help me help others when bidding farewell to their mothers.  It is a classic […]

When Jesus rose from the dead, and later ascended to a greater place beyond this world, He gave us an Easter challenge to also rise above the things of earth.  While great leaders, from President Zelensky to Pope Francis, guide us to rise above overwhelming issues of international proportion, we are also summoned to rise […]

On the original Easter morning, it was women who went to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been buried and discovered it empty.  It was to Mary Magdalene that Christ first appeared in resurrected form; and it was she who was initially sent forth to announce the Good News of salvation.  But in that time […]

Norman Vincent Peale was a twentieth century Methodist minister, author, media personality, and motivational speaker known for his positive outlook.  He is among those who are sometimes referred to as “Easter People.”  They spend their life improving their little speck of the world and bringing hope to those who seek it.  Among his stories is […]

Black Lives Matter (BLM) began as a movement in 2013 by three female organizers concerned that societal systems, mores, and structures are biased against black citizens.  The movement gained viral social media status the following year after George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer characterized by many as racist, was acquitted for fatally shooting a black […]

About ten years ago, a parish in the Baltimore area, Church of the Nativity, led by their pastor and a pastoral associate, transformed their dying faith-community into one that is thriving and life-giving.  The two men, Father Michael White and Tom Corcoran, chronicled the story of revival in a book entitled: Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, […]

Blaise Pascal once said, “Men never do evil so completely and so cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.”  Through history, we know it is probably true: sacrificing humans, waging wars, persecuting heretics, burning witches, terrorizing infidels.  We heard about it in the Crusades, Inquisition, and holy wars; we experienced it in […]

Throughout my life, like many of you, I have pondered the existence of an almighty deity.  As a little kid, I had conversations with God that convinced me not only of His universal power and glory but also of His personal connection to, and interest in, me.  These spiritual rendezvous were not earthshattering revelations but […]

Daniel Day-Lewis starred in a 1993 movie entitled “In the Name of the Father” about a young man who is sent by his dad to carry out a particular, seemingly impossible, task and is wrongfully accused of a crime.  To save his father from being murdered, he takes blame for the crime and is imprisoned, […]

Former actor and comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, has the spotlight of the world stage shining upon him but in an incredibly serious role of life and death for millions of people as he also sets the course for future international relationships.  Born into a Jewish family in a primarily Christian country, he is, on many fronts, […]