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The funeral of a great myth — C.S. Lewis on evolution…
[embedded content] This is his academic banquet — a six-course argument. If you want an enjoyable, but takeaway version, see https://youtu.be/8t0UDoKImBs
End of the year 2019: Trying to understand the blitz of anti-Semitism that’s shaking New York…
Here’s what I saw, two days before Christmas, when wrote my “On Religion” column about the Religion News Association’s poll to pick the Top 10 religion-news stories in 2019. I saw this item: “A gunman kills 51 worshipers and wounds 39 at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. An Australian linked to anti-Muslim and white-supremacist statements faces charges. New Zealand quickly enacts new gun restrictions.” That ended up being the No. 2 story of the year. But I also saw this: “Gunmen kill one person at a Poway, Calif., synagogue; two others outside a German synagogue; and three in a Jersey City kosher market. Other anti-Semitic attacks and threats increase, particularly in New York City.” That ended up at No. 10 in the poll. I also saw this: “A terrorist group in Sri Lanka, claiming loy...
Former Indianapolis Colts GM enjoying ride to playoffs with the Seattle Seahawks…
Ryan Grigson, when in Indianapolis, holds his youngest of his six children, Jonah. (Courtesy Cynthia Grigson) Former Indianapolis Colts’ GM Enjoying Ride to Playoffs With the Seattle Seahawks Ryan Grigson Learns from his dismissal in Indianapolis, and is open to new adventures. In early 2012, Ryan Grigson was hired as the Indianapolis Colts’ general manager. The former Purdue tight end and offensive tackle inherited a team that had gone 2-14 the previous season, but he was determined to turn things around. The results were immediate and dramatic, as the Colts went 11-5 in 2012 and made the playoffs. Grigson was named NFL Executive of the Year, and the Colts registered the same 11-5 record the next two seasons. However, things cooled down in 2015 and 2016, when the Colts posted identi...
Exercise? I thought you said extra fries!…
Since one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be more authentic, I admit that the fun title for this post came from a little framed art piece I spotted in the aisles of JoAnn Fabrics. While I would prefer to confess my inspiration springs from all that Kierkegaard, Tolstoy, and Shakespeare I’ve been poring over lately (NOT!) or the endless hours minutes spent in daily prayer and reflection… I’m certain God continues to seek this undeserving soul’s attention. And He will undoubtedly work with what He has. Sometimes that’s the clearance section of a big-box fabric store. The pithy little saying painted on a rustic white-washed backdrop gave me a chuckle, not simply because they expected some schmuck to shell out $10 for a farmhouse chic clearance item, but because it struck a chord. I tend to...
Chaldean Catholic archbishop: Iraqis have ‘big anxiety’ after drone kills Iranian general…
AMMAN, Jordan — Iraqis fear their country, already weary from years of war, may be dragged into a conflict between the United States and Iran, following the U.S.-targeted killing in Baghdad of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani. “We prayed during the days of Christmas for peace on earth, and the timing of this revenge from America creates in us a big anxiety about what will happen,” Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Yousif Thomas Mirkis of Kirkuk, Iraq, told Catholic News Service by phone. “This can also divide the population. Some are against. Some are for,” Mirkis explained, but warned that the assassination of Soleimani, known as the architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East, could spark further sectarian divisions in Iraq between Sunni Muslims and Shiites. Many of the recent dem...
The sounds of the Sistine Chapel Choir…
The singers are at the pope’s side for all important papal celebrations. The Sistine Chapel Choir performs when the pope presides over the Christmas Eve mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, and they sang at the private Vatican mass to honor Pope Francis’s 80th birthday. And as the oldest choir in the world — evidence of their existence dates back to the seventh century — they’ve seen a few popes. The Sistine Chapel Choir performs inside the Sistine Chapel CBS News The bulk of the choir’s repertoire is sacred music composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Palestrina, who lived from 1525-1594, composed his music with the Sistine Chapel in mind, drawing inspiration from Michelangelo’s colorful frescos adorning the walls and ceiling. With masterpieces like The...
If there is anything I have learned, it is to let our good and holy clergy and religious in…..
For weeks I prayed and prepared. I taught my youngest how to address him. I wiped baseboards and dusted chandeliers. I planned a menu that didn’t overestimate my cooking abilities but seemed worthy of the extraordinarily special guest. I polished silver and curated a jazz playlist just hours before I set out the tray of Brie cheese and fig preserves for a simple yet not-so-everyday appetizer. It started out just as I had hoped. We sipped our wine and laughed together in the usual get-acquainted rhythms. Our youngest son child sat cozily at our kitchen bar tucked between our Bishop, visiting our home for the first time, and one of our dear priest friends. Then, it happened. The child leaned forward and stuck out his little tongue (in good Communion form, I will...
A meditation on the mystery of time…
I open our New Year’s Eve late night Mass (11:15 PM) with the observation that we begin Mass in one year and end in the next. New Year’s Eve highlights the mysterious passage between years. In a way I suppose it is no more mysterious than the passage from Thursday to Friday or from 10:00 AM to 10:01 AM. In one sense, nothing could be simpler than time. I might ask you, “What time is it?” You might reply, “It’s 1:15.” Simple! But time has mysteries about it. What is time? Some say it’s merely a measure of change. But that doesn’t really make a lot of sense because change doesn’t occur at a steady pace at all. Some say it’s just another way of measuring distance in the space-time continuum. Time and distance are certainly related. To look out at the stars at night is to look into the past; i...
The quest and questions of the Magi…
(And Then I Wrote…) Since this site began more than six years ago, every Thursday I have been publishing a reprint from my column “Across the Universe” in the British Catholic journal, The Tablet. I have finally gone through all of them (except for 2019’s columns) and I’ve even re-published a few of the oldest ones that came out here before our readership had grown. In order to let my backlog build up a bit, I am taking “Across the Universe” offline for 2020. Instead, I am republishing a selection of other articles that I have written an published in various places… often obscure. This one is not so obscure, and in fact it’s a reprint of a posting here from four years ago… but I thought it would be appropriate to show it aga...
Teen climber falls 500 feet on Mount Hood — and survives…
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Three-year abuse lawsuit window opens in California…
Sacramento, Calif., Jan 2, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- A three-year window opened in California Wednesday, allowing lawsuits over childhood sexual abuse that would normally be impeded by the state’s statute of limitations. The window was created when California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB 218 into law in October. In addition to the window, the bill also permanently adjusted the state’s statute of limitations for civil suits regarding childhood sexual abuse. Previously, a person had until the age of 26, or three years after discovering damages from sexual abuse, to file a claim. The state now allows plaintiffs to file lawsuits until the age of 40, or five years after discovering damage. The California Catholic Conference said in a statement released at the bill’s signing that the state’s bi...
The Sisters of Life show the way to unshackled freedom in 2020…
Sisters of Life nuns sing hymns following a papal mass conducted by Pope Francis in Philadelphia, Pa., in 2015. (Mark Makela/Reuters) Learning real freedom from some joyful, loving women ‘This time, with freedom!” Sisters Mary Karen and Mary Gabriel implored. It was a rare “off” day for Sisters of Life from different convents getting to be together at their motherhouse in the suburbs of New York. And they did what any healthy family might do on the second night of the octave of Christmas — they gathered around an outdoor Nativity scene with fire for warmth and sang carols, and eventually other devotional songs. Some of the younger sisters (this is a youthful community, not even 30 years since its founding) had just got done with a hopping Pentatonix “O Come, All Ye Faithful” mix. Advertise...
