The (Face)Book of Lamentations

The (Face)Book of Lamentations

There’s a queasy, sinking feeling that settles in the gut as we learn more details about Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev – the brothers who claim responsibility for Monday’s bombing and Thursday’s shootings in Boston. As a nation we’ve been glued to...
#tbt – April Heartbreak

#tbt – April Heartbreak

This Throwback Thursday will strike a somber note. Historically, April has been a month of outbreaks of violence in the United States. This week’s tragedy at the Boston Marathon has sadly joined an infamous list of April devastation. In the past twenty years, April...
In the Flock: Faithful…and Enlightened?

In the Flock: Faithful…and Enlightened?

Can one be a thinking person and a Christian? A Catholic? Plenty of people, starting with “the new atheists,” would have us say no. Their arguments tend to be shrill, superficial, and increasingly passe. For the believer, polite trivialization of faith is a far more...
“I Was Just…” (Living at Half-Mast)

“I Was Just…” (Living at Half-Mast)

Living, as I do, in Boston it’s no surprise (it’s actually a source of gratitude) that over the past day I have received texts, tweets, and Facebook messages inquiring into my safety. I was not, thankfully, either a spectator or participant in the Boston...
A New Voice

A New Voice

A few years ago I was sent to work as a chaplain intern at a women’s prison in New England.  It was with nerves on edge and jugular vein jumping in my throat that I arrived at the prison gates. It was right there that I met Sister Maureen, a short nun, full of fire...
Worth Watching: Game of Thrones

Worth Watching: Game of Thrones

Warning: Before writing what will generally be a positive review of HBO’s Game of Thrones, it’s necessary to make one thing clear. This series is not for children or those easily scandalized by violent and sexually explicit material. HBO apparently decided that the...
Schizophrenia in America: the Gosnell Trial

Schizophrenia in America: the Gosnell Trial

At one time, specifically during the French Revolution, the guillotine was the iPad of instruments of death.  It was a clean, efficient, humane method of decapitation.  Though no killing machine could replace the personal touch of a live executioner with an axe to...
Into the Winter Streets, a Papal Interruption

Into the Winter Streets, a Papal Interruption

A bearded young man sits a few rows from the stage in the Tabernacle, a concert hall in Atlanta, Georgia.  Conan O’Brien, the famously ginger-haired comedian whose show is broadcasting live from Atlanta throughout the week, notices something unusual about the man....
This Summer: Going Green in Brazil

This Summer: Going Green in Brazil

Green is looking like the official color of Magis & World Youth Day 2013. And we don’t just mean the fact that the Magis website is decked out with it. Safeguarding the environment is shaping up to be a major theme during this year’s pilgrimage to Brazil and Rio...