FOR THE JOURNEY When my son and his male cousins headed to college, my daughter’s gift to them was a colorful book called “A Man, a Can, a Plan,” by David Joachim and the editors of Men’s Health. Clever and presumably practical, it contained easy recipes for the man on his own. Realistically, however, a […]
Effie Caldarola: The debt we owe
FOR THE JOURNEY In Omaha, Nebraska, where I live, we have a feature writer in the local paper who covers the stories of refugees in our city. Her most recent article featured the trials of a family from Congo who spent years in a Tanzanian refugee camp hoping for a better life. After extreme vetting, […]
Effie Caldarola: Where gladness and hunger meet
FOR THE JOURNEY You may have heard this before: “The place to which God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” That line is from Frederick Buechner, an ordained Presbyterian minister, theologian and author. Most of us, within the context of our busy lives, want to […]
Effie Caldarola ‘A combo burger of hilarity and joy’
FOR THE JOURNEY I blame Jesuit Father Greg Boyle for the fact that people sitting around me on an airplane a few years ago suspected I might be nuts. I was reading Boyle’s book, “Tattoos on the Heart,” about his ministry with gang members in Los Angeles. Father Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, […]
Effie Caldarola: Father Edward Flanagan’s legacy
FOR THE JOURNEY The tall, good-looking priest had the craggy profile prompting the comment, “He had the map of Ireland written all over his face.” Father Edward Flanagan was the founder of Boys Town, an innovative village for runaway and orphaned boys near Omaha, Nebraska, a landmark that revolutionized the treatment of neglected kids. Although […]
Effie Caldarola: The Father Martin controversy
FOR THE JOURNEY The Theological College in Washington, the national seminary of The Catholic University of America, recently canceled a lecture by Jesuit Father James Martin. Father Martin was to speak on his popular book, “Jesus: A Pilgrimage.” But the college announced that “in the interest of avoiding distraction and controversy” about his more recent […]
Effie Caldarola: Become the body of Christ
ON THE JOURNEY When I lived in Alaska, I was an extraordinary minister of holy Communion to the homebound. Looking back, I’m rather amazed that I volunteered for this task, which often took me on ice-clogged roads that meandered haphazardly into the snowy hillsides of Anchorage. The years have turned me into a much more […]
Effie Caldarola: Evicted: The housing crisis in the U.S.
FOR THE JOURNEY My husband and I are sitting on our front porch on a gentle spring evening, reading. I hold up my book and show Jim Chapter 6: “Rat Hole.” “This pretty much sums up this book,” I say, and silently thank God for my house, my neighborhood, my life. Simultaneously, I grieve for […]
Effie Caldarola: A moral duty to serve refugees
FOR THE JOURNEY Imagine that you are languishing in a foreign jail alone. You don’t know a soul in this strange country. If you return to the homeland from which you have escaped, your life is in immediate danger. Your wife and children have fled to yet another foreign country, and you wonder when or […]
Effie Caldarola: Mystagogy calls all Christians
FOR THE JOURNEY At the conclusion of the Mass I attended on Easter while visiting in New Jersey, the pastor repeated what appeared to be his annual Easter joke. Many people applauded when he asked if they wanted to hear it, and many smiled knowingly, already in on the punchline. So, the Easter Bunny is […]
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