Perspective
The inconveniently necessary Lent
I don’t like Lent. I don’t like the color. I’m much more a green-and-white than a purple-and-gray type of gal. I don’t like the music. Everything is in a minor […]
Perspective Archive
Perspective
Women and men: the odds
When we first began having grandchildren, they were roughly evenly divided between boys and girls. But the past 14 in a row have been girls. What are the odds? In […]
Perspective
Driving with God
This morning, I was taking my high school freshman to school. Halfway there, coming toward us, was an emergency vehicle with flashing lights and sirens blaring. We were stopped at […]
Perspective
Why we should care about the beloved Amazon
Pope Francis can be stubborn. If Americans are unlikely to care about Ukraine, as our secretary of state reportedly suggested recently, what is the likelihood American Catholics will care about […]
Perspective
Auschwitz and ‘intrinsic evil’
Seventy-five years ago, on Jan. 27, 1945, the infantrymen of the Red Army’s 322nd Rifle Division were bludgeoning their way into the Third Reich when they discovered the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination […]
Perspective
Christian girls and abortion
When Mother Teresa visited New Bedford, Massachusetts, in June 1995, she told those of us gathered at St. Lawrence Martyr Church: “Abortion is the greatest evil of today.” Never one […]
Perspective
What I learned on the pond: Reckoning with winter
The snow has begun. It is expected to last 18 hours, piling 9 inches high and crippling weekend plans. The streets are emptying, the collective dash to the grocery store […]
Perspective
Lent: another step toward ‘enough’
“What is enough for you?” was a question posed to my husband and me by our financial adviser. Many factors competed for consideration: the desire to not be a burden […]
Perspective
Let the good times roll
The natural world has days of abundance and scarcity. Autumnal harvest days bring bountiful crops of apples upon apples, while winter’s lean days offer a ravenousness search for any sight […]
Perspective
Spending time with my spiritual father
I write these words from the Eternal City of Rome, whither I’ve come with my brother bishops from Region 11 — California, Nevada and Hawaii — for our ad limina […]
Perspective
Hold the Botox
I get my picture taken a lot. I’m not particularly photogenic, but as president of The Catholic University of America, people expect me to be in the frame for a […]
Perspective
Miracle in D.C.
In August 2018 a beautiful young lady living in Washington, D.C., experienced a sudden and excruciating headache. Seconds later she fell unconscious to the floor. Her dog, Lacey, sensed something […]