English speakers have adopted the German Schadenfreude to name the enjoyment (Freude) we derive from other’s struggles and misfortune (Schaden). I’m ashamed that I occasionally experience this vicious delight at…
I’ve profited greatly from a book called The Joy of Being Wrong by the theologian James Alison. After ten years of spiritual direction, I’ve never heard such a succinct and…
With the emphasis during Lent on the Sacraments of Initiation and the welcoming of new members, the Liturgy of the Word during the last three weeks emphasizes themes of healing…
In recent decades, science has unveiled an amazing finding: Fetal cells and DNA from a growing baby can be found in a mother’s body not only during but well after…
The Prodigal Son has the makings of a soap opera—selfishness, blatant disrespect, wanton dissipation, jealousy, resentment, and alienation. No wonder Scripture scholar Luke Timothy Johnson calls this parable a virtual…
My father converted to Catholicism when I was in the third grade. I remember how proud I was and eager to help. After all, I had three years studying Catholicism…
We’re forty-eight hours into Lent. How is our fasting going? We might feel pangs of hunger, a craving for a Whopper or the Oreo cookies we stashed in a drawer…
“For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.” I wonder how often that thought enters into our thinking. While Christ taught that the last…
Today’s Gospel is a story about eyes and sight. But it is also about hands and touch. The word “hand” is mentioned three times in just four verses. The first…
When it comes to holiness and purity of heart, the bottom line is love of God and love of neighbor. “The whole law and the prophets,” Jesus says, “depend on…
