My youngest son just turned eleven. He is “all boy.” His older brothers tease him by asking, “How many girlfriends do you have now, David?” Such an idea elicits a quick and determined, “None! Girls are weird” response, which is precisely…
Like many cultural observers, I have been waiting for about twenty years for the shoe to drop in in the United States on euthanasia. While assisted suicide has been legalized in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, and Montana in recent…
March 21st marks World Down Syndrome Day. The occasion reminded me about I conversation I had with a wealthy friend almost twenty years ago that made a profound impression on me. He had been raised in sunny California and seemingly had the…
My nineteen-year-old son has worked several jobs while in college, and he has saved some modest funds. I have spoken to him about the benefits of investing in stocks or mutual funds rather than just a low-interest savings account, primarily…
In recent years, I have twice been blessed to be able to walk a long portion of the thousand-year-old pilgrimage to Camino de Santiago in Spain. Part of the Camino’s mystique is that it forces one to experience silence. While its pilgrims…
In 2010, TLC premiered Sister Wives, a show featuring a modern polygamist family. It stars a man and his four wives, with whom he had eighteen children. The show became very popular and ran for eight seasons over the course of four years, showing…
Hi everyone. Due to several recent talks that required preparation, and the trips that came with them, I’ve been away from the blog for the past several weeks. I’m glad to be back.
I recently entered the realm of having four teenagers,…
Catholic theologian Christopher West has used the movie The Truman Show as an excellent metaphor for how our common, everyday assumptions are, at times, seriously flawed. For those of you who have not seen the movie, Truman Burbank (played by…
If you’ve seen the movie Office Space, you might have a clear mental picture of the typical people who put down big bucks and head to rural Nevada every year to be a part of the Burning Man Festival. A key demographic going to this curious,…
Thirteen is the typical age when young people leave the Catholic Church. If you haven’t read Bishop Robert Barron’s article about young people leaving the Church, you should read it here. In it, he comments on a recent study conducted by…
Botox and Selfies- Will There Be a Tipping Point?
The Euthanasia Movement Gains Steam
Persons with Disabilities Are Gifts to Be Celebrated
Catholics, Take the Long View
Silence Is Trending
What’s a Catholic to Make of Polyamory?
Does the Future Hold a Digital Revolution?
“Stage Lights” Are Falling: Contraception Questioned
Is Burning Man a Pagan Ritual?
Young People Are Leaving the Church—Can We Turn the Tide?