In a sense, the pope’s messages all amount to the same thing: Hello and God bless you. But there is a care in the language that is striking.
Faith in Focus
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
5 lessons about evangelization from my time as a figure skating coach
Coaching ice skating, in some ways, isn’t far from teaching others about the church: It requires a knowledge of the rules involved, but it also means that I, too, must be willing to learn and listen and respond.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The grace of growing old
It is easy to think of older people as always having existed in their current condition. Does it make us feel younger to think that way? More superior? Perhaps we hope it holds our own mortality at bay.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Relationships are essential for health and happiness. What about a friendship with God?
The Harvard Study of Adult Development has found that deep relationships are a key to long term emotional well-being. As I read their findings, I found myself wondering how many people would include a relationship with God as one of the deep personal relationships of their lives.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Ignatian spirituality, Alcoholics Anonymous and the inspiring ministry of Father Ed Dowling
How the spiritual sponsor of A.A.’s Bill W. began his ministry
Posted inFaith in Focus, Politics & Society
Fellow boomers: Have a little faith in Gen Z
Parents always think the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and their kids are the hapless passengers in the front. And parents are usually wrong, but not for the reasons they would think.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Eulogy vs. homily: When should you talk about the deceased in a Catholic funeral?
When someone dies, it is only right that family and friends be given a chance to share their memories of their loved one. But the balance between pastoral care and logistical realities can be a tough one to strike.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Consistency and order might seem like boring qualities. But they were the reasons I loved Pope Benedict.
Pope Benedict XVI’s life and writings for the church show that one can be a staunch defender of order in the church’s teaching while still respecting God’s infinite love and mercy.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The Holy Spirit descends on a high school wrestling meet in South Dakota
If you would have asked me ahead of time, my hunch—fair or not—would have been that a gymnasium filled with wrestlers’ parents and fans, particularly in the western reaches of rural South Dakota, would not have a lot of empathy and patience for needy little creatures threatening to disrupt their earnest games.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Winter storms, travel nightmares and Covid-19: Lessons on letting go from a chaotic Christmas
What happens when the first “normal” Christmas since 2019 turns into a sitcom-level celebration in which everything that can go wrong does go wrong?