As the crisis of sexual abuse by members of the clergy grinds on and on, victims and perpetrators alike must surely be asking, Where is God in all this? The answer may come more easily to the victims. Consider envisioning God the way Jesus does in Lk. 15:8: What woman having 10 coins and losing one

I remember reciting the phrase about mourning and weeping in this valley of tears in the Hail, Holy Queen, a prayer I said often when I was growing up, and being aware at the time of the immense suffering in the world. Perhaps it was because I was a child during World War II or because the church ta

Awailing ululation echoes across the night as I trudge up the sandy hill, the Muslim call to prayer that signals the end of the day. As I crest the hill, I pause to catch my breath. The thin air at this altitude makes any form of physical exertion a daunting task. The wind blows, and a whisper of sa

Today I failed that easy command of St. Paul, Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. While inmates at the prison where I work were smiling and rejoicing, I was on the verge of tears. It happened this way. Shortly after arriving at the prison, I noticed three inmates standing with

In my 32 years as a priest, I have been threatened by the Ku Klux Klan, have been thrown out of a ministerial association because I am a Catholic, have had fundamentalist preachers run me down by name on the radio and have had a knife pulled on me in church for a homily I gave. I have also seen one