Based on a True Story…

Based on a True Story…

I realized there’s something not quite right when I was watching this year’s Emmy Awards and seeing Sarah Paulson win an award for playing Marcia Clark, with the real Marcia Clark as her guest.  Paulson, of course, was part of the all-star cast in the fictionalized...
Ignatian Yoga

Ignatian Yoga

I’m tired and sore as I sit in Catholic liturgies and retreats. I have become more and more aware of how my body and breath are overlooked. I want a Church that takes the connection between the body, mind, and spirit more seriously. I envision a Church that recognizes...
Borrowed Wisdom

Borrowed Wisdom

I think it’s the metallic clicking and tapping from his typewriter that I remember most about my grandfather. He passed away years ago, but somehow the rhythmic percussion of his fingers hitting the keys remains. I can still see him sitting at his corner desk with the...
The Last Time This Happened…

The Last Time This Happened…

#tbt to the electronic voting system at GC34 back in 1995. Can you spot some familiar faces? #jesuits #GC36 pic.twitter.com/JpMjCfQCkT — Jesuit GC36 (@jesuitGC36) September 22, 2016 In 2008, the Jesuits held their last full international gathering. Things were a...
One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Home

One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Home

I nearly always stump people in “Two Truths and a Lie” when I say that I used to work at a landfill. People are convinced that must be the lie. But sure enough, I worked at my local landfill one summer in high school. While I knew in theory that trash doesn’t...
Five Life Lessons from College Football

Five Life Lessons from College Football

Football is back. I know, I know, depending on where you stand those three words can make your heart race – or your eyes roll. It can seem like a waste of time, a whole lot to do about nothing, entertainment for the masses… I get it. But watch this and tell me...
And Then There Were Three

And Then There Were Three

“Table for two,” we said in unison after a sidewalk bear hug and the jingle of the coffee shop door opening. We slid into our wire and wooden chairs beside the window on National Avenue and didn’t know where to begin. Good friends can pick up where they left off, but...
The Stranger Things of Friendship

The Stranger Things of Friendship

I recently sat down and watched Stranger Things, a new show on Netflix.  I had heard a lot of clamor about the series and it came recommended by a good friend.  The series takes place in 1983 and is a thriller with science-fiction elements scattered throughout the...
The Boy Who (Still) Lives! A Review of Rowling’s Latest

The Boy Who (Still) Lives! A Review of Rowling’s Latest

While some consider me “obsessed” with Harry Potter, I prefer the term “expert.” In last month’s Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter even wrote an exposé on me, copied below… COLTEN BIRO, SJ; Order of Merlin, Second Class With the ravenous wit of a Ravenclaw at heart,...