Spirituality

The internet is ubiquitous in our day to day lives, a tool without which our contemporary world would not be able to function. It is an indispensable part of our modern lifestyle, something we engage with every day. It is a diverse…

We interrupt this Eastern Rite calendar to bring you St. Joseph. Why? Because St. Joseph (feast day March 19 on the Western calendar, patron of the universal Church) does not have a separate feast day on the Eastern calendar. This may lead…

One shivery November night in northern Indiana we went to my brother’s house for a family celebration. My brother worked construction and was still on the job when my sisters, parents, and I arrived. While my brother worked late we and his…

In the northern part of the United States this is the season when mortality is on the mind. Leaves fall, the harvest is gathered, and nature retreats in anticipation of the deathly stillness of winter. With the Church’s annual…

When I was growing up, one of the local television news channels had the upbeat brand “Eyewitness News.” They prided themselves on being on location as news events unfolded, providing sharp analysis and snappy interviews with those who had…

We all carry both psychological and spiritual wounds that affect our motives, our reactions to other people’s behavior, and the deeper reasons we fear or avoid certain things. When I was in junior high, I dabbled in the occult. My parents…

Remember the 1990s when Ashley, Ashleigh, and Ashlee all ended up in the same kindergarten? That’s what it was like to research St. Hippolytus. I found two different Hippolytuses who claim the feast day, Aug. 13 and a third thrown in on…

Superheroes dominate today’s culture. We need only look at the blockbuster films featuring compelling characters with superpowers to know that Hollywood has found a lucrative formula. The enormous success of Marvel and DC films create an…

The parishes I serve in southern Door and Kewaunee counties in Wisconsin are surrounded by bodies of water. One is close to the Bay of Green Bay, off which, many of my parishioners live. The other is situated closer to Lake Michigan. In my…

One evening I called down the basement stairs for my eighth grader to come up for dinner. He had gone down to run on our treadmill, but when I opened the door, I didn’t hear the familiar whirring noise, so I went to investigate.  I found…