A little over a year ago, Jesuit Father Frans van der Lugt was assassinated in Syria. His story is inspirational for the sheer faithfulness and integrity of his witness. I keep his picture in my office to remind me of this witness. Although we don’t know for sure who killed him — Syria being the […]

There was a time in medieval history and in some places even later when believers would use extreme methods of self-discipline, or self-punishment, during Lent, as a penance for sin. We’re most familiar with these practices from movies we’ve seen, or in my case, the historical novels I enjoy reading. Hair shirts that bit at […]

After Christmas, a brutal cold descended on my part of the Midwest and ushered in our new year. We returned from our holiday travels to find a light dusting of snow. Most of it had been blown away by the harsh winds of the Plains, but when I awoke in the morning, I discovered that […]

Do you ever sit idly in front of the television, remote control in hand pointed like a weapon, and flip through channels wondering why the offerings are so bad? It’s enough to make a woman pitch her remote and grab the nearest novel. Fortunately, right before I did that one night, I switched to public […]