Commentaries
Appreciating God’s botanical gardens
In viewing the exhibit, "Food for Thought," at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., I felt the need to become a botanist; a more inspiring vocation for appreciating God's blessings you could not desire!
On a pilgrimage called grief
I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad one that lately I've been telling myself what I've often said to my young grandchildren: "You have to be patient. And how do you become better at being patient? By being patient."
What does God want?
In this column I am going to try to reduce the New Testament to a few hundred words. Are you with me? Here goes.
Future of youth is ours, too
On his way to lead up to 2 million enthusiastic young people from all around the globe at World Youth Day festivities in Rio de Janeiro July 23-28, Pope Francis sounded a somber note about their future -- and everyone else's too.
Do I look fat in this?
To be sure, the modern obsession with diet has some resonance in Christian tradition. The Old Testament and the Fathers of the Church have plenty to say about eating and abstaining from certain foods. The church always has encouraged temperance and fasting (though historically more so than today). Eastern churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, require fasting during Advent and Lent. They demand abstinence not just from meat but also, on certain dates, from milk products. But there are aspects of the contemporary practice that would puzzle any serious Christian. The church disciplines and purifies the body for the sake of the spirit. Its practices are not about fitting into summer outfits, nor about being in tune with terrestrial harmonies. Today's foodies treat the body as divine and as an end in itself.
What we can learn from tragedy
Some ask how people who seem to "have it all" could throw it all away on drugs. But they don't understand the living hell of addiction. No matter what pop songs say and movies show, there is no safe drug. There is no fun drug. Drugs create a dependency in your body from the first moment you take them. Once you've started down that path, it's hard to turn back, even if you desperately want to stop.
The American way to change
Youth should regard service as a "rite of passage" she writes. They need a sense of purpose, as do adults, and a sense of purpose can be gained through service. "Having a purpose is as important for youths making choices about their futures as it is for people rebuilding their lives after a crisis or older adults finding a way to make their retirement years meaningful," she says. And then Sagawa adds this telling point: "Service is not the only path to purpose, but it is a well-walked one that can help Americans of all ages and backgrounds transform their own lives for the better."
Cheeseburgers and the catechism
These part-time jobs are part of a business model that was not designed nor never meant to be a career in order to support a family of four. Part-time jobs in fast-food restaurants were for teenagers, not for careers. "Real" restaurants with tables, tableware, and place settings and tips could be the place for a career.
When compassion grows feet
Most of us are compassionate people, raised by parents who felt and expressed compassion toward others. But the response to suffering varies from person to person, family to family. What makes the difference between those who act on their feelings of empathy and those who don't? Parents play a great role in encouraging their children to become people of action.
Who is my neighbor?
On the same weekend the Gospel passage of the good Samaritan was proclaimed in Catholic churches all over the nation, a jury deliberated a case in which two neighbors met on a roadside with a decidedly less morally edifying outcome. The timely intersection of Luke's narrative with the July trial of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin offers Catholics an opportunity to reflect on our own interactions with others who may run outside of our personal social sphere.