When I was a kid, probably seven or eight, somewhere around Christmas time my family volunteered with a program that offered winter housing in our church for people experiencing homelessness. I remember helping to pour the cereal for breakfast, chatting with some of the people, and experiencing a somewhat confusing set of instructions about both…
Category: Theological Reflection
The Artist and Gardener, Or, How to (Not) Take Back Our Nation
Like many of you, I stayed up late on election night watching polls and listening as pundits prognosticated ‘what it all means.’ I confess that I have spent most of my free time since Tuesday night reading columns on the right and the left, digging through the sudden avalanche of anxieties projected by ‘Red’ America,…
The Challenge of Imitating Mother Teresa (or The Sorrow of Not Being a Saint)
Once she was fast-tracked, the end result was no surprise. We knew she should become “St. Teresa”—though, as Pope Francis noted at Sunday’s canonization mass, it will be hard not to keep calling her “Mother.” No, what struck me was something else Pope Francis said: “May she be your model of holiness.” My model of…