Ah, an election year. A marvelous time to pack up, set sail and drop anchor near some South Sea island, perhaps. Take a long vacation. Until, say, mid-November.

Advent is an opportunity to examine one’s conscience – all the penance services and confession sessions are an excellent reminder of inevitable human failing – and even bathed in the beauty of the Christmas season, we are all aware (especially if we have small children!) of the potential pitfalls of the holidays.

Back in March, a Lublin man who’d recently joined a cult vandalized St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Neillsville, just across the border in the Diocese of La Crosse. He threw things around, broke statuary, desecrated the altar and generally destroyed as much as possible in a short amount of time.

When I was a child, perhaps 11 or 12 years old, my mother came home from church or a prayer meeting – some religious gathering – with a manila envelope. She said the photos inside were disturbing, and asked if I wanted to see them. I said yes.

February is Catholic Press Month, and as the editor of a Catholic newspaper, it’s my job to write a column celebrating the Catholic press.

Advent, Christmas, New Year’s. It is natural to assess one’s happiness this time of year.

Last September, I wrote a story on a friend’s decade-long struggle with drug abuse. Now, I feel the time has come to tell you the ending.

Although February is Catholic press month, the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of Catholic writers and journalists, is Jan. 24.

Blessings come in many forms, some more intimidating than others.

I love to look at beautiful things. Materialism isn’t my vice – I don’t want to own all of them – but when the mundane day-to-day drags me down, I need a burst of beauty to regain creativity.