Perspective
Doubling down on a bad deal
Perseverance on a difficult but noble path is a virtue. Stubbornness when confronted by irrefutable evidence of a grave mistake is a vice. The latter would seem an apt characterization […]
Columns Archive
Perspective
Another infernal betrayal
Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno” is still hell’s bestseller. A masterpiece of medieval poetry and theology since it was published seven centuries ago, the “Inferno” traces the author’s imagined trip through the […]
The Sunday Gospel
Jesus is the source of eternal life
Third Sunday of Lent John 4:5-42 The source of the first biblical reading for this Lenten weekend’s liturgies is the Book of Exodus, one of those five books of the […]
Perspective
‘Joyful momentum’ when two or more are gathered
There comes a moment when something clicks. At a book club or a Bible study. In a carpool circle or a coffee shop. A connection is made, and a gathering […]
Perspective
A hundred love letters
In a recent essay in the Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Cutter chronicled the death of her father by suicide. As he struggled with rapidly progressing prostate cancer, he lost more […]
Perspective
Integrity: To whom does it matter?
On Fat Tuesday, I gave a talk titled, “Business as a Force for Good.” A gentleman from the back haltingly raised a question, “What would you do when all your […]
The Sunday Gospel
Christ Jesus brings life and immortality to light
Second Sunday of Lent Matthew 17:1-9 As its name implies, Genesis reveals the divine origin of life and Almighty God’s plan in the forming of the Hebrew race. First and […]
Perspective
Fearfully and wonderfully made
One of the most common fears my patients have expressed over the years is getting Alzheimer’s disease. I watched my own mother steadily deteriorate for 10 years until she no […]
Perspective
St. Joseph, model of a good and holy family man
A river. A road. A county. A hospital, bank and parishes, too: a medical system, a valley, parks and many schools. All of these places, organizations and businesses are named […]
A more human society
The Catch-22 for religious freedom
I’ll always remember reading “Catch-22,” Joseph Heller’s novel about what he saw as the absurdities of war. In Heller’s account, enlisted men trying to escape those absurdities encountered ingenious military […]
Perspective
On the need for moderation, even in learning
A while back in the Community in Mission blog found at blog.adw.org, I reflected on the puzzling truth that we can endure more pain than pleasure. We seem to be […]
The Sunday Gospel
Jesus gives us the strength to overcome temptation
First Sunday of Lent Matthew 4:1-11 The first reading for this first weekend of Lent is from the Book of Genesis. Few passages in the Scriptures are as abundant in […]