Down in Georgia there’s an old cemetery that was used exclusively by black families—except for one white man buried there. This man, whom we’ll call Thurston, had lost his mother when he was very young. Thurston’s father was an important and well...
The role of attitude is often ignored in discussions of educational achievement. One reason is that the usual definition of attitude—a “disposition” or “feeling”—is too vague to be helpful. A better definition is a belief expressed indirectly...
On this First Sunday of Advent we hear the prophet Isaiah calling us to climb to the top of the mountain and look for the Lord’s advent, the Lord’s coming into our lives. At the end of this first reading when we hear Isaiah cry out, “O house of...
I’m going to talk about marriage. More specifically I want to discuss what makes a successful marriage work and what is the root and foundation of a good and successful marriage. And the person I would like to use as an example is my Aunt Dorothea...
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. In the twenty-first century, the idea of a monarchy is not palatable to some. Although we may have an interest in what the royal family is doing (think of all the hoopla surrounding the...
My heart goes out to the guests on news analysis shows. After spending years acquiring expertise in their fields, they get invited to share their knowledge. But then, when asked a question, before they get ten words into their answers they are...
It is no secret that there is widespread distrust of authority these days, a distrust of our basic institutions and their leaders that, in many cases, arises from understandable reasons. In reaction, personal individualism has been advocated to such...
If the Church were to compile a list of its least favorite people throughout history, one of the highest places would be reserved for a 4th century Roman emperor named Julian, who is commonly known as “Julian the Apostate.” (An apostate is a...
