Two new books show that Christian approaches to salvation are not as monolithic as one might think.

Jesus did not simply speak of a life to come. He revealed such a life and gave us a glimpse of it when he rose from the dead.

Now imagine what God’s love, after this life, can do to transform you.

This Day of the Dead, I made two loaves of bread: one to share with colleagues and the less pretty one for myself and my grandpa to share over a cup of cafecito.

Darkness and light are but one, the psalmist tells us. Our lives are filled with both. Sugar and skulls. Flowers and dust. Love and loss. You cannot embrace one without allowing the other.

“How do we treat those things which are sacred? We treat them with care, dignity and respect. The church calls us to do that with our mortal remains as well.”