Truth and Lies in JB’s “Love Yourself”

Truth and Lies in JB’s “Love Yourself”

Once, I banned talk of Justin Bieber from my classroom,— so, I cannot believe that I am going to say it — but I love Justin Bieber’s song “Love Yourself.” Why?  Take a look at two truths and a lie from the song. Truth #1: My parents and my friends might offer a...
Silence Makes Space

Silence Makes Space

We posed for pictures at graduation, wearing caps and gowns and sashes. We posed for pictures on my driveway, wearing t-shirts, a trucker hat and rucksacks. We posed for pictures on top of Mount Franklin, a high point on Isle Royale, a week later, wearing sunglasses,...
Golden State: Breaking Records, Breaking Hearts

Golden State: Breaking Records, Breaking Hearts

Embed from Getty Images Coming into their last game, the Golden State Warriors had a chance to do something no team had ever done: win 73 regular season NBA games. Despite the amazing record they were poised to set, I couldn’t make myself watch it. I grew up in...
My Back is Killing Me

My Back is Killing Me

Sitting anywhere lately for any amount of time has become bothersome. Variously these days I am hunched over my keyboard typing out theological missives, or cradled in the plush armchair of my room reading from the required course listing. No matter where I am,...
Where Are You From? It’s Complicated

Where Are You From? It’s Complicated

I often say I’m from Chicago. A little part of me dies every time I say I’m from Chicago. Don’t get me wrong. I love Chicago. It feels like a second home. But I grew up in Iowa, am currently living in Paris, and will soon return to Boston. I lived in Chicago five...
An Overview of Amoris Laetitia

An Overview of Amoris Laetitia

“The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church.” With these words, Pope Francis opens Amoris Laetitia, his exhortation on love in the family. The joyful and life-giving love of the family arises from the experience of the joyful and life-giving...
Amoris Laetitia: Deciding to Love

Amoris Laetitia: Deciding to Love

“Love, love, love.  All you need is love.”  Was that the Beatles or Pope Francis?  In his apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”), Pope Francis keeps driving home one theme: love. So what exactly is Francis teaching us about love, or more...