Perspective Archive

Have you started going back to Mass yet? Recently I went to my first Mass in three months. I had been watching Masses livestreamed weekly, but of course it didn’t […]

Andy was my sister’s friend. I’d see him from time to time when I came home from college. Nice kid. One summer my parish needed an interim youth minister, so […]

To sanction or encourage certain wrongful actions, it is often necessary to manipulate language. The plain meaning of words can get in the way of convincing others they should tolerate […]

Many have commented on how unfortunate it was that it took the murder of George Floyd and the callous, deadly harassment of other Black men to bring about an acknowledgment […]

The most common reason to be admitted to a hospital in the United States after age 65 is heart failure. The initial symptoms at presentation may be acute or more […]

A principal reason why the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was so successful both morally and practically was that it was led largely by people with a […]

I’d be willing to bet that not many of us have watched a man die. Those of us who don’t go to war or work in intensive care units are […]

This July 22, in the midst of the Church’s ordinary time of everyday life and summer heat, is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Catholic tradition nicknamed her “the apostle […]

By Richard W. Garrett On Monday, a divided Supreme Court handed down its decision in a case called June Medical Services v. Russo, which involves a Louisiana law requiring abortionists […]

Tonight, I wrote two events on my calendar: a birthday party and a baptism.  They will be sanitized, scaled-down gatherings — and they will be fun — but still, it […]

I’m a very sick man. In fact, I knock daily on death’s door. You see, I inherited it from my parents, and it has been in the family tree ever […]

This patient of mine was a huge man. He was 6-foot-4 and weighed 290 pounds. He did not look at all overweight. He was just big. He had significant coronary […]