Perspective
Hand-Me-Downs, Pick-Me-Ups, and ‘The Creativity of Love’
It all started with a used coat. Betty Henson didn’t need her fuzzy green coat anymore, so she offered it to her son, an aspiring puppeteer. Jim stuffed and stitched […]
Perspective
How Grandma Made Her Life a Work of Art
Two parts reverence, one part mischief. That’s how I’d sum up my grandma, whose name — Elinor Marcella — captures her mix of poise and playfulness. She raised five kids […]
Perspective
Good Enough, Here and Now: Love the House You’re In
Paige Rien was in hustle-mode. Her first book had finally been released, and the Catholic mom of four was determined to market it well. “Love the House You’re In” was […]
Perspective
The Greatest of These Is Love
This morning, I recognized a shift in my journalism career that feels noteworthy. In the past two years, I’ve done more open-ended interviews than ever before. It’s partly because I’ve […]
Perspective
On Snow and Silence: Learning to Listen in a Noisy World
I have loved photography for years. And I think I finally found my niche: snow photography. Every time it snows — which is frequent here in Minnesota — I grab […]
Perspective
The First Notes: When Music and Prayer Converge
From the beginning, there was music. It signaled the parade of life — comings and goings, mornings and evenings, the chirping of birds, the clatter of dishes, and the croaking […]
Perspective
No Cell Phones, No Problems: Saluting the Digital Minimalists
It started with news from Camp Wapo, the Bible camp I’d attended as a kid. The camp counselors in Amery, Wisconsin, enforce a strict no cell-phone policy: Ditch your iPhone […]
Perspective
Counseling the Counselors: Providing More Support to Our Priests
Is there still a stigma around mental illness? Is it more pronounced among priests? The answer to those questions became resoundingly clear last summer when Paul Ruff addressed a gathering […]
Perspective
Following the Path of Inspiration
During his down time at work, a Minnesota surgeon often browses the New Yorker in the hospital library. One day he spotted its famed cartoon caption contest – a caption-less […]
Perspective
Digital detox: how to guard the mind and slow the pace
It was time. Time to get away, to unplug, to finally write that novel. Time to prove he could resist the barrage of texts and tweets, news and notifications in […]
Perspective
Catholic entrepreneurs take the leap
Matt Martinusen lost his job at a precarious time. He was the sole breadwinner, and his wife, Lisa, a stay-at-home mom, had just had their third baby. The non-profit Matt […]
Perspective
Writing in the attic: the Catholic call to creativity
The idea came in a dream. It was just like the movies, the fantasy of every writer who has slogged away at a keyboard, awaiting inspiration. Haley Stewart’s came. “I […]