Commentaries
A partnership between generations
A recent ad for a Swiss watch shows a well-groomed father getting out of a first-class Pullman car and putting his arm around his 8-year-old son, also nattily attired in khakis, Docksiders and a sport coat. "You never actually own a Patek Philippe," the ad said. "You merely look after it for the next generation." It was a little rich for my taste. But there were some things I liked about the ad. It showed a father in a positive light -- something one rarely sees on Madison Avenue or in Hollywood. The fathers there are typically absent, unconcerned or inept.
Woe to our government
Are you distressed over the recent behavior of the U.S. Congress? You aren't alone. As a resident of Washington D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood, I daily encounter staffers to the Senate, Capitol Hill and the U.S. Supreme Court. I see the reactions of police officers, maintenance personnel and others working in the area. Reactions range from disgust and anger, to distrustfulness and having lost all respect. I also encounter loyalists who couldn't care less about the criticism or damage their party is causing. They feel they are right and that is it.
Observations from a texting hermit
Compared to you, I am not a social creature. In the past week, I've only sent or received text messages from nine people. Actually, nine is a bit of an exaggeration. If I remove automatic texts from companies wanting my business and messages that I sent myself as reminders, that number is reduced to four.
The last 50 years and more to look forward to
Ten U.S. presidents, six popes, and several wars have come, and some gone, since we first met. Our most recent gathering marked the 50th anniversary of our graduation from what had been a small, all-male Jesuit university.
Remembering a titan of the Second Vatican Council
We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. I was a young priest when the council began, and my heart was with the reform movement within the hierarchy of the church. Cardinal Leo Jozef Suenens was the single most influential church leader in that momentous Catholic Church assembly. He was also an idol of mine throughout my life.
Seminarian reflects on journey from budding sports writer to following God’s call
Now in his second year at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, the life change for Brendan Monahan has been quick and drastic. Far from his college days at Penn State where he was living a dual life of partying on the weekends while falsely trying to give God attention on Sundays, now he recalls the interior rise of his vocation, especially his attraction to the Eucharist and confession. Some Sundays at home in Plymouth Meeting, he'd peer at Epiphany of Our Lord Church’s stained-glass windows. During those days the sun seemed to shine brighter through the words, “The Call” next to “of Abraham” and “of Moses.”
Through pots of fire
When I was a young Jesuit Volunteer, the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, where I taught school for three years, was served by Jesuit priests. The diocese was vast but sparsely populated, and many of the Jesuits were pilots who flew to villages not on a road system.
Don’t be a bully
Let's be clear: People are not things. In general, things are to be used. You use a fork to eat. You use a cellphone to call your mother. You use a bus to get from Point A to Point B. Everyone uses things -- computers, cars, restaurants, shoes.
From mission statement to student pledge
I was struck during the 20th birthday celebration of AmeriCorps in Washington, D.C., last September particularly by the applicability of the AmeriCorps pledge to the strategic connection so many Catholic colleges and universities are trying to forge between their institutional statements of purpose or mission and the real lives of their students.
Same-sex marriage in the family: What’s a parent to do?
Marriage columnists Deacon Paul and Helen McBlain address their hypothetical dilemma: A gay son plans his wedding, and parents try to apply church teaching.