Columnists

Recently I reflected on the passage from the Gospel of Luke where Jesus gets up and preaches in his local synagogue and the people in his town write him off as just one of the […]

One of the major tasks of young adults is to discover God’s call. It is a process we all go through in one way or another. Each of us has a unique call — one […]

A friend of mine has just taken the standardized entrance examination for admission to law school. Thousands of people do this each year in America, so it should be no big deal, except that my […]

An important and often overlooked pitfall of overconsumption of media information is what we do with the news stories we see and hear. Tales of high-profile personalities involved in marital infidelity fill the tabloids, television […]

People are often curious or shocked when they encounter the Catholic custom of praying for the dead. They ask, “Why do you pray for them? They’re dead!” The question reflects some strongly held cultural beliefs […]

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a series on death and dying.Once, while in the parish, I was approached by a well-intentioned, non-Catholic funeral director who wanted certain things added to the funeral Mass. […]

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a series on death and dying.God’s judgment after our death is an uncomfortable subject. It’s a topic that many in our society just avoid or deny in some […]

“Everyone needs a vice,” my friend told me some years ago. His was finding and restoring old Volkswagen Beetles. The truth to his statement is that the human condition invariably includes a bad habit or […]

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a series on dying. One summer, as a college student working at a department store, I was approached during my lunch break by a co-worker. He sat down […]

Editor’s Note: This is the second column in a series on dying. A few years ago, a friend told me that he wasn’t afraid of death. I was pretty impressed until he told me that […]