Everyone Was a Bird

July 14, 2017 By

I had my appendix removed. For days after the procedure I did what I was supposed to: slump around the house, slow-step up the stairs, studiously avoid anything resembling useful behavior. I was under strict orders to take it easy. This boy’s a good soldier. You don’t need to tell me twice. The episode shall […]

Lilly’s Big Day

May 10, 2017 By

These blessings come once in a lifetime.

The Called Me the Wanderer

April 6, 2017 By

All are welcome.

Doubts About the Program

March 16, 2017 By

Humans are part of the environment, not a blight upon it.

Love Among the Artifacts

March 14, 2017 By

Beware the flyleaf inscription.

His Talent Doesn’t Come From Dad

January 19, 2017 By

Many can’t manage their gifts, just as some people can’t handle the truth.

The Only List that Matters

December 11, 2016 By

You can’t win it if you ain’t in it.

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

November 17, 2016 By

You’re doing well enough.

My Sheep Hear My Voice

October 14, 2016 By

We are not alone.

Miracle on Perryridge Road

September 16, 2016 By

The rookie has some veterans worried about losing their spots in the batting order.

No Hiding from the Hardest Jobs

July 22, 2016 By

You get paid for the stuff you don’t enjoy, not the stuff you do.

One Dad at a Time

June 17, 2016 By

Putting the family back together

Be Fruitful, Multiply

May 13, 2016 By

We’re having a baby.

What Day Is It Again?

April 17, 2016 By

Hitching her dreams to mine was no sure thing. She is a woman of strong faith.

In Praise of Rich Uncles

March 21, 2016 By

Special arrangements could always be made.

The Lord God Made Them All

February 19, 2016 By

All of God’s creatures have a place in the choir.

You Are Forgiven

January 21, 2016 By

May God give you pardon and peace.

Merry Christmas from the Family

December 11, 2015 By

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

Take the Wife-griping Somewhere Else

November 17, 2015 By

If you need someone to nod his head in agreement while you badmouth your “old lady,” count me out.

Everyone Needs a Friend Like Joe Boots

October 10, 2015 By

He needs these words of praise like he needs poison ivy on the back of his knees.

Secrets of the Big Manila Envelope

September 16, 2015 By

I was a disco-era Howdy Doody.

Mourning the Death of False Idols

July 24, 2015 By

Fathers everywhere measured themselves against Atticus Finch.

“That’s where the crazy guy lives”

June 19, 2015 By

I did an angry thing.

Star Wars Is Still Star Wars

May 21, 2015 By

The childhood magic is gone, but the essential messages remain.

Another Easter in the Basement

April 20, 2015 By

“Come. Bring me your troubles. I will make it all okay.”

Lent and Heroism

March 20, 2015 By

You wouldn’t give up your life for a maybe, would you?

Fifty Years a Priest

February 17, 2015 By

A good man celebrates half a century as God’s priest

Everything Worth Doing Is Hard

January 18, 2015 By

We all have challenges.

Snap Out of It, Scrooge

December 16, 2014 By

Already have everything I want.

No Way to Overdose on the Best Medicine

November 18, 2014 By

Laughter is the ballast of love.

Paralyzing diagnosis, amazing child

October 10, 2014 By

He said her spirit is eternal, while her body is only temporary.

A Whiff of the Pipe

September 12, 2014 By

The fragrant, earthy, enveloping smell of pipe tobacco was Grandpa’s trademark.

Prayers of the (Mostly) Faithful

July 31, 2014 By

“Kiki and Marina, pray for us.”

For Mother’s Day

May 9, 2014 By

We see it all. We see it every day.

Stumbling Through Screenland

April 15, 2014 By

Every day spent staring at a screen is a day that could have been spent outside.

When Fear Says Its Prayers

March 19, 2014 By

I’d be terrible company in a fox hole. I’d be useless on a submarine.

The Abortion Stalemate

February 18, 2014 By

Nothing short of Appomattox will make this issue go away.

Actor’s Death Hits Home

February 13, 2014 By

We’ve moved on. Those kids never will.

Candlelight Yoga in Our Lady’s Chapel

January 28, 2014 By

Stretch for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

It’s All Too Beautiful

January 17, 2014 By

Whoops and hollers reverberate through the piney timbers as they hurtle themselves down the soft grade of this New England valley.

A Parish Christmas

December 17, 2013 By

God bless us, everybody.

Here’s to Forty

November 15, 2013 By

Everyone in the graveyard votes the same.

Dan Malloy vs. the Electric Company

October 1, 2013 By

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

September 3, 2013 By

Nowadays, it just doesn’t do you any good to be an Irish politician in New York City.

Brother James’s True Vocation

August 31, 2013 By

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

August 25, 2013 By

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

July 24, 2013 By

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

July 3, 2013 By

Would she have grieved more for the twin she didn’t intend to kill than for the one she did?

The Heroic Option of the Priesthood

June 29, 2013 By

The priesthood is sacrifice. What could be more heroic?

The Quiet American

June 13, 2013 By

They say the only ones who talk about war are the ones who never saw the real action. Harold never said a word.