Perspective
Why poetry matters
Richard Wilbur died last month. He was, Dana Gioia said, the finest poet of his generation and the greatest American Christian poet since Eliot. Here’s an example of why I […]
Columns Archive
The Sunday Gospel
Prepare your hearts for when the Lord returns
First Sunday of Advent Mark 13:33-37 This weekend the Church begins Advent. It also is the start of a new liturgical year. Each liturgical year is carefully planned so that […]
Bishop's Column: In Truth and Charity
The God-who-comes
The Advent season is about to begin and, with it, the beginning of a new liturgical year. The Latin word “Advent” is a translation of the Greek word “Parousia,” which […]
The Sunday Gospel
The Lord is our shepherd, protector, judge and king
Feast of Christ the King Matthew 25:31-46 Next week, a new year will begin with the First Sunday of Advent. This weekend, the Church concludes its liturgical year of 2017 […]
Perspective
Destroying my freedom — in the name of freedom?
In an August 2015 column in The Washington Post, George F. Will argued in favor of physician-assisted suicide, summing up his perspective this way: “There is nobility in … affirming […]
Perspective
Take action against gun violence
By Christopher White I was in sixth grade when two gunmen entered Columbine High School and mowed down 12 of their fellow students and a teacher before taking their own […]
Perspective
Mass murder and our culture of death
On Nov. 14, Kevin Janson Neal paced about a remote elementary school in the small Northern California community of Rancho Tehama Reserve, apparently looking for children to shoot during a […]
The Sunday Gospel
Those who fear the Lord will be welcomed at the heavenly banquet
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 25:14-30 The Book of Proverbs provides this weekend’s first reading. This book was composed when the Holy Land and the lives of its inhabitants […]
Perspective
Miracle in Fayetteville
Two years ago, I wrote a column about my first-born daughter, Amanda, and her struggles with a devastating neurological disease called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Of all the articles I […]
Perspective
Making peace with the metronome
The metronome is an instrument that makes the “click-clack, click-clack” sound as it swings its arm to keep tempo for musicians. It could be the companion to great musicianship or, […]
The Sunday Gospel
Those who believe will rise again, with the Lord
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 25:1-13 The Book of Wisdom supplies the first reading for this weekend. The title of the book itself teaches a lesson. As centuries passed, […]
A more human society
No greater love
President Donald Trump often says things that invite criticism. So I’m puzzled when his critics bother to attack even his more innocent remarks. The president is charged with insensitivity for […]