Columnists
Striving to remain ‘saved’
A 13-year-old who lived across the street from our convent announced, after a weekend with a friend, “I got saved.” She had gone to church and participated in an altar call. Her parents would likely […]
Articles by Sister Pamela Smith, SSCM
Columnists
What’s new about the New Evangelization?
Father Oscar Borda recently posted photos and videos from an event on the New Evangelization among the Hispanic community in the Ridgeland area. In a matter of days, a delegation from our diocese will gather […]
Columnists
Can tattoos be sacramentals?
When Ray Bradbury published “The Illustrated Man” in 1951, tattoos covering virtually whole bodies were not as commonplace as they are today. Bradbury’s science fiction collection used as its starter a character whose body had […]
Columnists
A saint’s legacy and lives that matter
“Was it about educating them for a better life, or was it more about saving their lives?” asked a woman at the lunch table set up in the lobby of the church on the corner […]
News
Blessed are the homeless
One of the most interesting and even amusing contacts I’ve had with a homeless person took place at Penn Station in New York City a few years back. I was there way ahead of time […]
Columnists
The diocese has its titans
Anyone who has toured or lived in New York City will recall its bulky bronze sculpture of Atlas holding up the world. It occupies the gateway to Rockefeller Center on Fifth Avenue, on the other […]
Columnists
When faith and its practice look promising
We look around our neighborhoods on Sunday mornings and see few signs of church-going. Then we read the reports about all the “nones,” those with no religious preference. The Atlantic reports that nearly a third […]
Columnists
Why on Earth do we have anti-Semitism?
Consider a series of names: Benjamin Disraeli and Golda Meir, Albert Einstein and Gerty Cori, Marc Chagall and Judy Chicago, Anne Frank and Chaim Potok, Beverly Sills and Itzhak Perlman. These are, respectively, noted political […]
Columnists
Making America great
We have been hearing a great deal about making America first, making America great again. On a recent afternoon on Main Street in our state capital, I realized that it already is — in some […]
Columnists
Why so angry?
Just about every day drivers get cut off by lane-jumpers and see people making angry gestures. The networks bring up-to-the-minute reports of violence and the shouts of mobs. On weekends some fans behave like spoiled […]