Columns
Influencers of Ordinary Time
Recently, a youthful acquaintance shared with me his future career ambition to be “an influencer.” As a sign of my ever-increasing age, I was skeptical that the full-time influencer life is “a thing” for anyone other than celebrities.
Good conversation
Louisa May Alcott’s “Rose in Bloom” was my favorite book in middle school – similar to her more popular “Little Women,” but featuring a group of cousins instead of siblings, and less sad – and a reference to the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays led to my reading and admiring Emerson.
Invitations in Ordinary Time
Summer in Washington D.C. means many things. A quieter pace. Notoriously humid weather. A flood of summer interns. And droves of tourists!
Fr. Rolheiser’s column waters down Jesus’ warning
I would like to respond to the opinion piece by Fr. Ron Rolheiser which appeared in the July 16, 2026, edition of the Superior Catholic Herald. Titled “The ‘narrow gate’ to a fulfilling life,” the article disturbingly waters down one of Jesus’ most stark and clear-cut warnings.
Personal retreats: Who, what, when, where, why
During Jesus’ short period of public ministry, one of the consistent things we see is that he took time away from the crowds and preaching.
Independence and dependence in Ordinary Time
In the afterglow of a happy Semiquincentennial weekend, independence is still very much on my mind. The blessing of independence has been well worth celebrating and treasuring with a grateful heart.
The sister who befriends and listens
When she was growing up, Sr. Ave Clark’s father told her to befriend the workers who were a regular part of her life: the sanitation men, the mail carrier, the bank tellers, etc.
Parenting’s long-term labors of love
“Delivering a baby is called labor for a reason.” That was one of the parting thoughts (pun intended) offered by the nurse who led my pre-birth class more than 20 years ago.
The struggle to be sincere
Who are we really? Who are we when we are stripped naked in soul: stripped of ego, stripped of the image we have of ourselves, stripped of the hype, fads and ideologies that we unconsciously inhale and which color our thinking, stripped of the trauma we carry from our wounds, and stripped of our habitual unconscious posturing?