Butch Cassidy and the Weight Loss Kid
A friend once told me that Paul Newman drank two beers every night. Good for Paul Newman. Not so good for me.
Stumbling Through Screenland
Every day spent staring at a screen is a day that could have been spent outside.
It’s All Too Beautiful
Whoops and hollers reverberate through the piney timbers as they hurtle themselves down the soft grade of this New England valley.
Dan Malloy vs. the Electric Company
Maybe the real incompetence here is not on the part of the utilities but the politicians.
Christine Quinn’s Losing Campaign for New York City Mayor
Nowadays, it just doesn’t do you any good to be an Irish politician in New York City.
Brother James’s True Vocation
God must have been at work in Brother Elmo’s heart, because he saw something that Brother James couldn’t see in himself.
Gov. O’Malley’s Dereliction of Duty
How can Martin O’Malley stand by and do nothing when a truly vulnerable member of society has been killed at the hands of law enforcement?
The Working Families Party Claims a Scalp in Bridgeport
If Vallas could turn around desperate situations in Chicago and New Orleans, you’d think he’d be perfect for Bridgeport, wouldn’t you?
A Loving Place, Inside Me
Would she have grieved more for the twin she didn’t intend to kill than for the one she did?
The Quiet American
They say the only ones who talk about war are the ones who never saw the real action. Harold never said a word.
People-First Language
Until we can guarantee that people like Magdalena are first allowed the right to be born, I will find it hard to get riled up about people-first language.
Little Platoons
Rod Dreher’s homage to his sister raises profound questions about family and modern life.
Praying for Patience
Only when called on to help someone who really needs it do we tap the deepest reservoirs of our love and compassion. Prayer helps bring them to the surface.
Killed by the Law and No One Protests
Someone needs to investigate what happened to Robert Ethan Saylor and hold those responsible to account.
Guns, Glee, and Down Syndrome
Abortion proponents want to know: Who’s going to pay for your child’s health care when you’re gone?
Our Sacred Tradition Marks Us
When we are at our most vulnerable, our sacred traditions are there to give us solace.
Welcome to Sparta
They sacrificed the most vulnerable because they thought it would make them more powerful. But it had the opposite effect. It made them weaker.
Testing Down Syndrome to Death
Winston Churchill said that a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on, and this 90 percent claim has certainly done some impressive travelling.
Local Catholics Await New Pope and New Bishop
An announcement could be imminent, or the whole thing could be on ice until a new pope is selected and installed.
A Lament for Ordinary Time
Catholics are praying for God to grant our Church a wise, holy, and steadfast new pope. I am praying for a return to Ordinary Time.
Connecticut Yankee with a Country Heart
To a northeastern fellow with Generation-X ears, the glory of country music is its total lack of irony. It’s corny, romantic, tough, funny, clever, patriotic, faithful, authentic, and upbeat. I like it. Really.
A Letter to “That” Doctor
Many times in the past six years Matthew and I have wanted to bring our Magdalena back down to that office to show Dr. So-and-so what a bundle of crazy, joyous energy she is.
Catholic Politicians Betray the Faith…Again
Are politicians like Cuomo and Malloy merely Catholics of convenience, happy to wear the label when the media approves but disinclined to the point of defiance when the Magisterium of the Church conflicts with the party platform?
Halcyon Were the Days
Not that long ago, if you wanted to find the answer to a nonobvious question, settle a dispute, or simply satisfy your curiosity, you had to make a little effort.
Questions Without Answers
There is madness and violence. There is random death and inexplicable cruelty. But there is also redemption.
Surfing with Sharks
I always thought no marine life would make it through the nest of needles, aluminum cans, and diapers that I presumed formed a radius of detritus around the entire city of at least 5 miles. Wrong.
The Spy King of the Commuter Rails
If, like me, you are fascinated by human behavior, then commuting is the life for you and the train is the place to be.
Russia’s Cruel Adoption Ban
Russian president Vladimir Putin recently signed a new law banning the adoption of Russian children by Americans. A member of Putin’s United Russia party and a deputy in the lower house of the Russian Parliament has proposed an amendment to the law that will allow an exception for orphans with special needs.
He weaves a tangled web
The spiders come inside when the air turns chill. These suckers don’t know who they’re messing with.
The fine art of delayed gratification
Taking our faith seriously in a world of instant gratification is a hard swim upstream. If we’re lucky, we’ll end up back were we started.
Babies, nurses, and blessings
So I gave birth to a little girl on Wednesday evening. All is well. Her three siblings are loving and gentle, and we’ve all enjoyed the unexpected flower arrangements and cute stuffed animals that have arrived at our door these last 48 hours. A few thoughts on the early days of new motherhood, fourth time […]
The gift
My mother is gone now, but I still have that guitar. I remember how happy it made her to give it to me.
Mom of teens? Help me out.
How could a mom work to prevent this kind of mess for their future teens? Is there a way?
