When I was growing up, most of my “heroes” were sports figures: Ernie Banks (Chicago Cubs), Bobby Hull (Chicago Blackhawks), Muhammed Ali (boxing). In retrospect, I think it’s safe to say that they were my idols rather than heroes. An idol is simply someone who is adored for various reasons: good looks, accomplishments, charisma, and so on. A hero, on the other hand, is someone who puts personal needs aside and goes above and beyond […]
Summer is a wonderful time for young people to get plenty of outdoor exercise as they grow physically. It’s important to remember that they are growing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. With that in mind, summer is a great time to help young people exercise their imaginations! One of the most effective ways of exercising one’s imagination is through reading good literature. This is especially important in our times, when it can be tempting […]
Our Church is blessed with incredible diversity, and we are privileged to be experiencing rapid growth in the presence of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. Church. In fact: Hispanics account for 71% of the growth of the Catholic population since 1960. 40% of all Catholics in the U.S. have a Hispanic background. Six out of ten Catholics under the age of 18 are of Hispanic background. U.S.-born Hispanics make up two-thirds of the Hispanic population. On […]
As we enter the month of February, 2021, with the realization that Ash Wednesday and Lent are just a few weeks away, we will no doubt begin experiencing a sense of déjà vu—that sense that we have lived through the present situation before. And while we have all lived through Ash Wednesday and Lent before, this will be the second year that our Lenten experience takes place within the context of a worldwide pandemic (although, […]
I’m sure you’ve seen little children opening presents on Christmas or a birthday and being more enamored with the box and the wrapping paper than the actual gift! Somehow, young children are able to look at a plain cardboard box and imagine that it is a car, an airplane, a boat, or a spaceship. It is that imagination that we must tap into when it comes to early childhood faith formation. According to Webster’s Dictionary, imagination […]
“Religion is belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.” —Deepak Chopra This quote pops up frequently on social media, and it speaks an important truth: spirituality is an experience of a relationship with the Divine. Such an experience is one of mystery. Another word we use for such an experience is mystical. Unfortunately, in our culture, the word mystical has come to be synonymous with the word magical: something beyond the […]
Parents and children are no doubt eager to catch a break from all of the screen time that comes with working and schooling from home during the pandemic. The Christmas holidays provide just the kind of respite that is so needed—an opportunity for families to gather around something other than a computer screen! I’d like to suggest reading books as a family as the perfect option for the Christmas holidays. Loyola Press is making that […]
Let’s face it: as a result of social distancing, many of us and our children are spending a lot more time sitting in front of a screen these past few months! While convenient, it does indeed result in a kind of fatigue. Do yourself and your children a favor this fall, and get your hands on some great books in hard-copy form. One of my favorites, and a book that my wife and I read to […]
I’ve always found John 4:4 to be a strangely intriguing passage. The passage tells us that Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee and that, to do so, “he had to go through Samaria.” The reason it is intriguing is because he did not have to go through Samaria. There were, in fact, other ways to get from Judea to Galilee. While passing through Samaria was the shortest route, it was a route that many Jews avoided, because […]
Early on in my career, I was once gently criticized by a colleague for using too many sports metaphors in my writing and speaking. Having taught religion for a decade in an all-boys high school, I found that references to sports resonated with my students, and so I relied on them quite often. My colleague suggested that sports references were “masculine” and excluded the girls. Perhaps there was a time when this was true, but we […]
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