Columns Archive

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Perspective

Exhaustion meets new beginnings

During these first weeks of the year 2021, I have spent a significant amount of time in conversation with colleagues, students, family and friends. We talk work, life, our children, […]

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Vox populi: The voice of the people

Francis Galton was a Victorian scientist with an interest in social Darwinism. It may have been his views on breeding that moved him to attend the West of England Fat […]

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Perspective

Considering the danger of concussions

When I was a sophomore in college, I participated in a flag football league. Even though it was flag football, it got physical at times. If you could not pull […]

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The Sunday Gospel

The Lord is calling us to be His disciples: How will you respond?

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time John 1:35-42 The First Book of Samuel is the source of the first reading for this weekend. Originally, First and Second Samuel were one volume. […]

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We need grace to succeed in our resolutions

I learned the act of contrition in second grade. Mrs. Tartamella would patiently practice with us every day. We’d go through the prayer line by line, and when we’d get to […]

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Stepping back from the brink

Jan. 6, 2021, was an epiphany of sorts for Americans who watched in horror as a mob breached the U.S. Capitol, assaulted police and vandalized offices. It was both shockingly […]

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With Biden in office, here is the way forward

Even in a normal year, the juxtaposition of the U.S. presidential inauguration and the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) is jarring. 2021 is […]

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The Sunday Gospel

Listen to the Lord, that you may have life

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Mark 1:7-11 This weekend, the Church invites us to celebrate the great feast of the Baptism of the Lord, great because it commemorates […]

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The faith of Violet Jessop

When Violet Jessop set out to be a maritime stewardess, she wasn’t driven by some starry-eyed desire to see the world. She was moved by necessity. Her Irish father, a […]

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Perspective

‘Dominion,’ the values of the West and the cross of Christ

The popular historian Tom Holland has written an extraordinary book called “Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World.” The subtitle sums up his argument. Holland is deeply impatient with […]

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Perspective

‘Ite Ad Joseph’: Brother Andre Bessette, CSC

On United States Postal Service stamps, New York Times headlines or ESPN sidelines, one can spot them. Well-known and well-educated, the priests, brothers and sisters of the Congregation of Holy […]

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The Sunday Gospel

We come to worship the newborn King

Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord Matthew 2:1-12 This weekend, the Church invites us to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, one of the most revered […]