The Wholeness of a Broken Heart

The Wholeness of a Broken Heart

Discovering who I was in college didn’t come with much affirmation that love could be part of my human experience. I dreamed of marriage and children with all the typical accessories of the American Dream. But encountering anything romantic came in the form of...
Lenten Politics

Lenten Politics

Prayer. Fasting. Almsgiving. The three buzzwords of Lent. Each year, I start off strong, but often my zeal tapers as the 40 days progress – usually somewhere around day three. Then, all of a sudden, Easter is here, and I’ve forgotten about them because I’ve...
Doing Something for Somebody

Doing Something for Somebody

Perhaps you, like 20 million others, have seen this video. When I saw it, I felt so thankful that I had purchased sandwiches for two homeless men earlier that day. I felt like I was on the good side. But since that day — as on countless occasions prior to that...
House Mass: The Mystery in the Mundane

House Mass: The Mystery in the Mundane

In Madrid we live in apartment flats (pisos) and our house chapel is a converted bedroom – a rather small bedroom. For our community of fifteen fully grown Jesuits, it can be a tight fit. The space is about twice as long as it is wide, so we sit on a bench...
In Memoriam: Antonin Scalia

In Memoriam: Antonin Scalia

I met the late Antonin Scalia only once in my life.  The college seminar I took on the Supreme Court included a trip to Washington, DC, during which we observed oral arguments and, afterwards, Justice Scalia spoke with us for the better part of an hour.  It was...
A Love Story: Love Beyond the Grave.

A Love Story: Love Beyond the Grave.

It’s Valentine’s Day! Bring on the chocolates, balloons, cards, wildly romantic gestures, and sappy romantic comedies (that we all pretend to hate, but secretly love). This time of year has us all lamenting or celebrating relationships statuses, pondering what-ifs,...
Worth Watching: I Am Big Bird

Worth Watching: I Am Big Bird

At the beginning of the summer I wrote a summer movie preview and highlighted I Am Big Bird as one of the movies I was most looking forward to.  Well, it took two feet of snow for me to finally sit down and watch it.  The documentary is a tribute to the life and work...