Discover

You already know the look: Your dog is staring up at you, its eyes shining with curiosity and ears perked up. And, of course, the pup’s head is cocked slightly to one side in response to the sound of your voice. It’s just one of the many charming quirks that dogs possess. And a quick Google search will offer up plenty of theories for their adorable head-tilting behavior. For example, some veterinarians suggest that dogs tilt their heads toward their owners to show that they are engaged and prolong the interaction, similar to the way that humans nod during a conversation to show that we’re listening. But surprisingly, little research has investigated the reasons behind it. A recent study, however, may offer some hints — and suggests that the head-tilt could be a sign that your canine compan...

In the summer of 1997, the Southern Baptist Convention called for a boycott of the Walt Disney Company, acting in response to some early power mouse gay-rights decisions. Eight years later, the leaders of America’s largest non-Catholic flock quietly called off the boycott, which was a bit of a dud. The news coverage was, well, joyfully muted. Why did this boycott fail? Well, for one thing, lots of SBC guys probably found it hard to ditch ESPN and lots of parents who were “conservatives” found it hard to stop using Disney movies as babysitters. This brings us to the current headlines about Bud Light and Target, which served as the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast (click here to tune that in). Baptists vs. Disney? Kind of a big deal, but not really. Then again, Disney executives may...

Mark Twain’s book on St. Joan of Arc shows that God can work spectacularly through the unlikeliest of candidates, whether humble maidens or skeptical authors. “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books, and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none.” —Mark Twain Mark Twain’s Joan of Arc is perhaps the finest novel ever to have been written by an American. It’s a book with the power to change the lives of its readers. Yet I’m typically greeted with a surprised look, whenever I mention it to friends, over having strung together the names “Joan of Arc” and “Mark Twain” so closely in the same sentence. The gre...

The two longest passages in the New Testament that have questionable origins are the longer ending of Mark (16:9-20) and the section on the adulteress in John’s Gospel (7:53-8:11). Interestingly, both passages are twelve verses long. We’ve already discussed the longer ending of Mark, and here we take up the story of the adulteress. In scholarly circles, it is known as the Pericope Adulterae (from Greek and Latin roots, meaning “the section on the adulteress”; note that pericope is pronounced per-IH-kuh-PEE). In the story, a woman caught in the act of adultery is brought before Jesus, and his opponents test him by asking what should be done with her. The Mosaic Law prescribed death for such offenses (Lev. 20:10, Deut. 22:22), but Jesus says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the firs...

Vigil of PentecostBy Fr. Victor Feltes All plants and animals depend upon water to live. Water comes down to us freely from the sky. Though its appearance may vary (as rain, or hail, or snow, or dew) once it rests upon the earth it produces many different effects throughout creation. Water, while ever remaining itself, adapts to the need of every creature that receives it, growing apples on an apple tree, creating sweet sap in a maple tree, or generating many-kernelled cobs on a cornstalk. In this way, water is similar to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descends as a free gift from heaven. He comes in different appearances (as fire, as a dove, as wind, or invisibly) while always remaining his same divine self. He is the Lord, the giver of life, and in each person who receives him thr...

I spent much of yesterday reading this book, which means I spent much of yesterday wondering…how did she?….and feeling thoroughly inadequate. Isabella Bird (1831-1904) was an Englishwoman who was the child of an Anglican curate, was educated at home, had health challenges as a child and young woman…and then spent most of her adult life traveling the world. Here’s the list of her books at Gutenberg. In 1873 – so at the age of 41 – on the way from Hawaii to England, she made her way from San Francisco to Colorado, where she spent a few months exploring, mostly on her own on horseback in the late fall and early winter. A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains is the account of that time, told through letters to her sister. The book was a sensation and, according to this, an important factor in ma...