COLUMNS

Inordinate attachments - moral flaw or struggle with divine energy?

The renowned spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen, made no secret about the fact that he was emotionally over-sensitive and that he suffered, sometimes to the point of clinical depression, from emotional obsessions.

Faith can erase the life-long legacy of fear

After a long and tiring seven hour drive alone from North Carolina in Memorial Day weekend traffic, I finally checked in to a lovely hotel, was upgraded to a suite with a king-size bed and a mattress advertised as “the most comfortable in town!”

Focusing on the importance of daily gratitude

On a cloudy Saturday morning, I sit in my usual prayer spot by the patio door and watch the birds in the yard. I find them endlessly fascinating.

Teaching others about the necessity, not the obsession, of money

Immediately after the tragic Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia in May, a legal firm advertised on television that those injured should contact the firm to receive just compensation. There was no mention of sympathy or of prayers. The focus was money.

Living in the present

"What time is it really?" That's what our son, Thomas, wanted to know on a road trip across the United States back in 1989.  

Volunteer work led to life as Christian Brother

I remember going through several job interviews with accounting firms during my senior year at the University of Notre Dame.  Although I was focused on getting a job and beginning a career, I was also interested in doing some volunteer work for a year.       

Enjoying the magic of turning 18

It's the age when you're legally independent, the age when you can vote or join the military. In the United States, 18 is more than an age. It is a set of experiences.

On celebrating 55 years as a priest

In late May, I celebrated my 55th anniversary as a priest. Looking back on it, the day of my ordination was the happiest day of my life.

What is that graduation speech really saying?

"I never saw a hearse towing a U-Haul," remarked a friend of mine the other day. He was talking about the problem of materialism in contemporary life and the need to find ways of convincing the young that there is a whole lot more to life than making money and …

A lesson in coalition building via the death penalty

In late May, the Nebraska legislature abolished the death penalty. I'm still digesting those words: Nebraska has abolished the death penalty.

Growing old gratefully

It was my privilege to spend the last week of May leading a retreat for "senior priests" at St. Mary's Center for Continuing Formation in Baltimore.

The deepest secret inside wisdom

Everyone longs to know something that’s secret, to know something that others don’t know, but that you know, and the knowledge of which gives you some insight and advantage over others who are outside the inner-circle of that secret. It has always been so.

God will always be present to the graduates of 2015

The future is promising for the 1,588 high school students who compose the graduating Class of 2015.  

God will cover for you on your next vacation

For many people around the world, summer means vacations. When I grew up in Hong Kong, we did not have the practice of family vacations. Early in my career, our family went to wherever I had a summer conference. It was not quite a vacation as I always spent part …

Want to connect technology and ministry? You could make an app for that

As people spend more time online, many parishes might be looking for ways to connect with parishioners in places other than in the pews – or even in person.


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