Category Archives: Other

“A number of times over the years I’ll be someplace, and someone will have introduced me, and all of a sudden this woman will come up to me, and she’ll say, ‘May I give you a hug?’ And she’ll just wrap her arms around me and hold me very tight, and she whispers in myContinue reading “Vicki Thorn, R.I.P. “

Forgiveness is the subject of a new book by moral theologian Fr. Thomas Berg and clinical psychologist Dr. Timothy Lock, who both serve on the faculty of St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, NY.  The book is called Choosing Forgiveness: Unleash the Power of God’s Grace, and they recently gave an interview to The Pillar aboutContinue reading “Forgiveness & Healing”

When I was 25, I lived for four months in Madrid as a guest of a large Spanish family of 8 children, most of whom were grown and living on their own. I was introduced to the family by a friend who briefed me about them as he drove me to their home. In theContinue reading “Learning from Alvaro & George”

In this month’s edition of the Fairfield County Catholic (Jan 2022), there is a beautiful article about a young woman named Brianna Farens who grew up in Shelton, and is a graduate of St. Joseph High School (2010) and Providence College (2014).  She had always thought about pursuing a career in medicine, like her father,Continue reading “Comprehending Brianna’s Choice”

Pope Francis got himself into trouble with the commentariat last week for some things he said during his January 5 audience that were critical of married couples who decide against having children.  “Many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they [intentionally] just have one – but they have two dogs, two cats [that] take the place ofContinue reading “The Blessing of Children”

There’s an excellent essay by Helen Alvare in the current edition (Jan 2022) of Magnificat, entitled “Who is my Neighbor?”  Alvare is a tenured law professor at Antonin Scalia Law School (George Mason University), an advisor to the Vatican and the US Bishops Conference regarding issues of family policy and religious freedom, and the author of many articles and books. Here it is in its entirety:  I haveContinue reading “Family Matters”

What do we hope for in this new year of 2022?  Certainly, we continue to suffer the effects of the pandemic. COVID-19 has exposed many of the hidden maladies of our society, including a widespread sense of isolation and a desperate yearning for meaning and purpose in life.  We have seen how social alienation is easily co-opted by political movements and ideologies that foment resentment andContinue reading “Hopes and Resolutions”

Over the next couple of weeks, the media will begin its annual practice of reflecting on the events of the past year, including the passing of celebrities and politicians.  One of the people who surely will be mentioned is comedian Norm MacDonald, who died of cancer in September.  MacDonald was best-known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and for anchoring theContinue reading “Norm”

I recently read a very sad article entitled, “’Nones’ at the Peripheries.”  It appeared on the website of a Catholic news provider called The Pillar and was the final installment of a series of articles about a survey commissioned by The Pillar which I also wrote about in this space a few weeks ago.  This particular article focused in on a segment of our country’s population that is religiously unaffiliated. They are often referred to as the “nones,” since their response to theContinue reading “Friends with Nones”