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Of Many Things
When I was a boy, my favorite day of the year was a toss-up between Christmas and the first day of school. In high school and college, it was definitely the last day of school. While toiling in the business world, it was the first day of vacation. Since becoming a Jesuit, I have a new favorite day:
At a time of great turmoil within the U.S. Catholic Church, a determined group of people has carved out an enviable record of achievement in some of the most challenged regions of the world. Maryknoll Lay Missioners - 131 people in 17 countriesis the church’s largest and fastest-growing lay mi
Books
First of all the answers to two questions burning at the back of many of our minds concerning the highly charged issue of faith-based initiatives Yes absolutely faith-based organizations do a better job rendering social services than public or government-funded agencies and no absolutely they
I have never before encountered, either in correspondence, after Sunday liturgies or just in casual conversations, such intense concern and confusion over faith and politics as I do nowadays. The issue is abortion. Unlike most of the moral imperatives that Jesus articulates in the Gospel, unlike the
Faith in Focus
I decided while Iwas living with nuns that I wanted to be a priest. I live with two of them, Pat and Ellenrita, and a fellow my own age, Mark, who’s also serving a Dominican Volunteer year in the Bronx. The nuns are pretty easy to live with, once you learn to clean up the shower, make sure nob
You have come to Pasadena, Calif., the cradle of Pentecostalism, to study at the school of theology most associated with that movement, Fuller Theological Seminary. Why? In the Philippines, I studied theology between 1984 and 1988, and afterward taught in a seminary. By 1991, the year of the Se
Editorials
For years the hypothetical case of the “ticking time-bomb” has served as a test for moralists probing the limits of absolute prohibitions: Are authorities permitted, by way of exception, to torture a captive who probably has information about a hidden time-bomb that could kill large numb
The Word
I have a distinct memory of my mother teaching me how to pray the rosary I knew the prayers I just did not know which ones were said on which beads I also have memories of my father sitting on our bed with my sister and me at each of his knees saying our night prayers I have no idea why I rememb
Books
Reading American Jesus I longed to teach again a course I regularly used to offer on American culture and religion This would definitely be a required text It is a spritely sometimes ironic truly illuminating overview of Jesus as a national icon within and outside the organized churches Steph
I read “Father Has An Accent,” by the Rev. Willard F. Jabusch (2/16), with some measure of astonishment, followed by a genuine feeling of humility. I am not, strictly speaking, an “imported priest,” but I do consider myself a “foreign missionary.” I did my first f
News
Ratzinger Advises U.S. Bishops on Principles for Denying Communion and VotingIn a recent memorandum, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger laid out the principles under which bishops or other ministers may deny Communion to Catholic politicians who consistently promote legal abortion. At the same time, he said
The Word
At first glance this well known saying from the first chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes sounds very pessimistic Some might say that the rest of the book gets even worse However such an evaluation is a misreading of a very sobering yet genuine perspective on life pursuits but not on life itsel
My grandmother did not pass on to the afterlife without leaving me something. After a life that spanned nearly a century, three generations were on hand to send her off to her Maker. Her funeral was simple and heartfelt, if a bit unorganized. The priest asked my aunt, just before the procession bega
After the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Southwest Airlines was the only airline that made a profit, kept all its workers on the job and actually adhered to its full flight schedule. The next year, while other airlines cut thousands of jobs, Southwest hired thousands and f
The Word
Whenever we travel on vacation we are dependent on the hospitality of others We may have to pay for it but the quality of their openness to us either enhances or detracts from our enjoyment Through hospitality we are made to feel as if we are at home And when we feel at home we want to stay In
Editorials
Smuggling and trafficking in human beings is on the rise, and with that rise has come an increase in victims’ suffering. Throughout the world, they are treated simply as commodities, often in ways that are physically and psychologically brutal. Although there are differences between smuggling
In response to criticisms of the mistreatment of Palestinian Christians in Israel and the Israeli-controlled Palestinian Territories, I am often asked, “Don’t Christians also suffer persecution at the hands of Muslims in the Arab Middle East?” There is no simple answer.Yes, the Uni
Film
Reality leaves a great deal to be desired. Reading the morning paper feels like an ongoing suicide pact with the universe, and listening to NPR without several doses of Prozac in hand can threaten one’s tenuous grasp on sanity: Iraq, terrorism, environment, fundamentalism, economy, abuse, AIDS