The suggestion that we should hate our families seems repellent, like smelling food you intuitively know has passed. Even in my most wrathful moments of adolescence, in the midst of injustice at the hands of the oppressive regime of Mom and Dad, I would never, truly, hate my parents. I came closer with my twin… Read More “I Wasn’t Home for Christmas”: Reconciling Family and the Kingdom
There is a beautiful nativity scene in my church back home that depicts a town journeying up the hill–market men, shepherds, old and young, rich and poor–all climbing to the stable where Mary and Joseph gaze longingly upon their infant in the manger. The cattle and sheep lie still as they look upon the place… Read More For God is With Us
Check out these recent articles from around the web: The power of Christmas by Michael Gerson: “But Christian influence is not expressed in the grasping struggle for legal rights or political standing. It is found in demonstrating the radical values of the incarnation: Identifying with the vulnerable and dependent. Living for others. Trusting that hope,… Read More Around the Web
A few years ago I was writing a letter to a dear friend of mine. At the end of the letter, I wrote a simple cliche: “May God always be with you.” As I wrote it, I immediately realized what a silly phrase it was. The truth is that no request is needed: God is always with us. Christmas… Read More Christmas Message: 2013
I hope all of our readers have a wonderful Christmas Eve (and Christmas Day). Here are some highlights from the pope’s homily for tonight’s Mass: In our personal history too, there are both bright and dark moments, lights and shadows. If we love God and our brothers and sisters, we walk in the light; but… Read More Pope Francis: Jesus is the light who brightens the darkness
Pope Francis: “The Lord is coming. May we await him with open hearts!”
We don’t know much about St. Joseph and his role as a father to Jesus. Most of his story can be left to the imagination—and I imagine that as he held his infant son, born under inauspicious circumstances in a stable surrounded by smelly, noisy animals, the whole world melted away for him. I imagine… Read More An Advent Reflection Inspired by Pope Francis
Millennial 