It would not be easy to forget Sister Lucía, the frail little nun whom I met in a strange and terrible place, the Manicomio de San Lazaro in Quito, Ecuador.

One summer in the early 1920’s, Ms. Lorelei Lee, a resident of Manhattan who had grown up in Little Rock, Ark., made a trip to Europe. This diversion was sponsored by her gentleman friend, Mr. Gus Eisman, known as the Button King of Chicago. During the journey, Ms. Lee kept a diary, which, fortuitously preserved by Anita Loos, was published in 1925 as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It became an American classic.

I heard my first confession shortly after my ordination in the summer of 1959. It was a much different era from that of today’s church.

Understanding the Journey

To Embrace the Other, by Thomas P. Rausch, S.J. (4/16) speaks with clarity and hope. The title itself is hopeful: To Embrace the Other, not To Embrace the Self, which seems to be the problem at times.

Cardinal Walter Kasper is right on target when he says, Either the ecumenism of the future will be a spiritual ecumenism or it will cease to be. Recommending a new elementary vocabulary toward this spiritual ecumenism will help a greater number to understand that journey and why it is good for all concerned. We must remember that Christ is the center and that we best carry out Christ’s mission by calling, inviting, encouraging and challenging one another.

Sometimes the gap between differences seems impossible to close, but when the conversation turns to Jesus and what he was about, it does not seem great at all.

Leonard Marie Lichinchi, C.S.J.

Most Catholics love to argue. Once you get past the Apostles’ Creed, there are very few things all will agree on. One is that they want to hear good homilies. Unfortunately, Catholics are often disappointed. Here, then, are a few suggestions for preachers, to help them feed the flock of Christ without leaving the people hungry or suffering from religious indigestion.