The recent college admissions scandal offers an example. A con-man convinced a number of wealthy couples to pay large sums of money to ensure that their spoiled and underqualified children would be accepted into some of the best universities in the country. In the process the college applications were falsified, arrangements were made to cheat
There are a couple of channels on cable TV which specialize in police investigation shows. The shows usually begin with a grisly murder and then follow the police investigation until they discover the most likely suspect. The rest of the show is devoted to the trial and sentencing. A common element of the sentencing portion
Different stories underline some of the conflicts and policy differences within the Church. Stories of some saints often stress strong devotional elements and contemplative prayer. Eucharistic Adoration is seen as the height of Catholic spirituality and obeying church law is one of the criteria for being a good Catholic. On the other hand, stories of
If you listen to the news or skim through the Internet you get a lot of information. The difficulty is that the information is in pieces. It is in shards that make little sense by themselves but you can take a bunch of those shards and arrange them into a pattern that makes sense. These
Easter is the high holy day of Christianity. It is the most characteristic expression of the Christian tradition. Yet, if we were stopped on the street and asked what Easter is about we would be stumped for an answer. Obviously, most of us would mention Christ’s resurrection from the dead. We might appreciate some mystical
As a youngster I was taught to be nice to others, to be respectful and polite. There was even a course in school called “etiquette” which reinforced these lessons and helped us apply them to a variety of situations. Being polite was sort of a social lubricant that allowed people to interact in a reasonable
A few weeks ago, some neo-Nazi in New Zealand shot up two mosques, killing about 50 people. It was the most recent in the rash of mass killings. A week later two survivors of the Parkland school shootings last year killed themselves. A few days later the father of one of the children killed in
Pilgrimage isn’t just a spiritual exercise but is a great metaphor for the spiritual life and our life journey to God. This idea was captured by John Bunyan in 1678 in his classic story, “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” The story describes a pilgrimage that the protagonist of the story undertakes. The pilgrimage is not easy and
One of the most ancient religious practices is that of pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a journey to some site that has a reputation for being a “holy” place. It is a location where it seems that the barrier between this earthly plane and the supernatural is particularly thin. We can feel the presence of the
Recently the annual federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King’s birthday was celebrated. In addition to providing due recognition to the African-American community and an exceptional American hero, it was a much-appreciated opportunity for a day off from work. While I very much enjoy my job, it is nice to have an extended weekend now and