Contradictions of sin and mercy There are times when an essay from the past feels fitting. This is one of those times. Mostly because there is one man who better understands the contradictions of sin and mercy better than any other: Karol Wojtyla. His first published work was a series of meditations prepared at the […]
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When I learned that Overcomer was a new Kendricks Brothers movie, I resolved to see it. This is true for four reasons. Four years ago, a movie with the title, War Room, was irresistibly evocative to me… Prayer as war: the correlation of combat with happiness has long been one which applies to my life. Therefore, a
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Environmental Activist and Oxymoron There was a time, many years ago, when I was more of a radical environmental activist than most people I knew. And would not have conceived of a phrase like environmental activist and oxymoron in a single phrase. No more. The first part of the phrase carries the heft of religion.
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The Feast of the Ascension: Why Does it Matter? Last night, Fr. Paul began his homily during the vigil Mass for The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus, with that question. It’s a fantastic scene, isn’t it? This event witnessed by eleven ordinary people a couple of thousand years ago; fantastic to them then and
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It’s spring in Nevada And the benefits of my March cleanup efforts are everywhere I look. The ponds and streams constructed years ago now flow cleanly and powerfully. The roses are magnificent. I can recall so readily what this house looked like when we came here…can it possibly be seventeen years ago? There was nothing.
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We Do What We Can: Or Do We? These words sound weak: “we do what we can” in this culture of superlatives where someone is not just good but “amazing”, where a movie is not merely excellent but “awesome.” Recently, I spoke with a long time friend about why the phrase, “we do what we
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Your life is worth dying for… Exactly what are we worth? We usually think about our worth in dollars and cents. In terms of salaries, bonuses and raises. Each of us asks the question at least once, probably several times during the different phases of our lives: From the beginning of our careers and the
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If we are not frightened by brutality are not my words, instead, they are those of St. Augustine. The saint wrote about the serene, loving, and Christlike words that poured from the mouth of the brutally tortured and dying martyr, St. Vincent during yet another of the successive regimes of persecution against Christians in the
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Last year, I selected one from a list of preset questions that comprise “author interviews”: “Do you view your writing as a spiritual practice?” Surprised at the question, I stared at the words for a while before realizing that yes, I did think of my writing as spiritual… even a spiritual practice. And wrote this
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A House in Haiti: A Counter-cultural Christmas Present “Wow…Really? It’s all paid? Someone in Haiti will get a house?” I was dumbfounded… I had emailed Food for the Poor because the money that had been debited from my account each month had stopped. I thought there was a glitch of some kind, it never occurred
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