FOR THE JOURNEY When you think about the Vatican, great filmmaking isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But a documentary released by the Vatican on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Oct. 4, is a must-see for all of us. It should be advertised in every parish bulletin, mentioned from every altar, […]
Effie Caldarola: Easter offers hope
FOR THE JOURNEY Like life itself, Lent starts out nice and slow. And suddenly, Easter is upon us. There may have been a Lenten midway point, or maybe as Holy Week began, we realized that Lent has sped by. We ask ourselves, Did I do enough? It’s human nature to feel like maybe we […]
Effie Caldarola: Studying our history
FOR THE JOURNEY The book, “We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” is at once both stunning and horrifying. Searching for something to read, I picked up this 1998 bestseller at my daughter’s house. But I paused. Was the story of Rwandan genocide relevant or was it ancient […]
Effie Caldarola: How generous are we?
FOR THE JOURNEY Someone I know is a waiter. Like restaurants across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, his establishment has been open, closed, carry-out only, 50% capacity — in other words, his income has bounced like a yo-yo. The other evening, with renewed closure rules going into effect, he served his last table. He […]
Effie Caldarola: Interesting and challenging times
FOR THE JOURNEY My granddaughter Charlotte posed for the traditional first day of kindergarten photo on the front porch of her home in New Jersey, wearing a new sequined-splattered outfit popular with the under-7 set. Then, like millions of American kids, she turned around, walked with her backpack into her own house, sat down at […]
Effie Caldarola: Together at the potluck
FOR THE JOURNEY When I was growing up in a small Midwestern farm community, I was vaguely aware of rich folks. There were prosperous lawyers, business owners, Dad’s cousin who owned the grain mill. Our family struggled on a small dryland farm, made more challenging by my dad’s ill health. But as a kid, I […]