Two years ago I declared that Deacon Mike Rogers was a better person than I am. Last year I admitted that I still hadn’t forgiven Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the recently convicted Boston Marathon bomber. Now that the last athlete has crossed the finish line of the 119th running, I confess that I still hold an angry… Read More Sermon on the Marathon

I understand why people don’t want to talk to their barista, of all people, about race. I can also understand why they don’t want to talk about race at all before, well, before they’ve had their coffee in the morning. Still, it is a conversation we need to have, and I applaud Starbucks for at… Read More America Runs on Race

During my glorious year living in Hawai’i, my Sunday routine was pretty set. In the morning I would walk to Waikiki Beach, rent a surfboard, and pretend like I knew what I was doing. Then, on my way home, I would stop at St. Augustine’s Church for the 5:00 Mass. I always cut an interesting… Read More Mahalo, Pope Francis. Ho’omaika’i ‘ana, New Cardinals

“I’ll tip if somebody really deserves a tip,” Mr. Pink explained in Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino’s classic film. “If they put forth the effort, I’ll give them something extra. But I mean, this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds. As far as I’m concerned they’re just doing their job.” I have to admit, Mr. Pink… Read More Here’s a Tip: Pay a Just Wage

My mother had two rules for my sisters and me as we were growing up: never lie, and never make anyone feel bad on purpose.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that most of the lies I tell my mom are designed to keep her from worrying quite so much about me (i.e. to keep her… Read More Lies, Damned Lies, and OMG!

On Palm Sunday I got out a little bit earlier than I normally would, especially after a decidedly non-Lenten Saturday night. I wanted to see the Passion play put on by the Life Teen group at my parish, and they don’t perform it at the mass I usually attend. As it turns out, while the… Read More One year and thousands of miles later

In my kitchen I have about half a dozen frying pans, and at least that many spatulas.  It’s not that I have any special affinity for them; it’s simply that I make scrambled eggs far more often than I do dishes. I didn’t know you are supposed to periodically clean out the bacon grease (I… Read More Is Porn the Biggest Threat to American Families?