"It's about time you got married, don't you think…" This phrase should be deemed the cultural stigma that we cannot get past. First, when I was in my early twenties, my childbearing years were quickly passing, ...

Are you a good Catholic? As we begin 2003, we are surrounded by war and rumors of war. What do you think of the Bush administration's ...

I hate reality TV. I think reality TV creators pander to the lowest common denominator so often that I'd rather sit and eat paste with kindergarten children than watch one ...

Rachel said the women who participate in Room In the Inn (RITI), Campus' winter shelter program, are like artichokes. Their hearts are hidden by overlapping layers of abuse, addiction, mental illness, and inconsistency. ...

I stood on the corner looking into the children's playground. At one o'clock on this chilly afternoon I found it empty after my walk in the park. Past the dry sprinklers were the two tire ...

Can there be any example more illuminating about what faith demands than Mother Teresa's recently revealed crisis of faith? Crisis of faith…and Mother Teresa? Yes, the two go together. She was human ...

Most of us can identify certain teachers or mentors who have had a profound impact on our lives. The same can be said for particular books that have shaped our view of ...

The line of work in which I am employed has a significant amount of downtime. But no matter the number of projects my office currrently is or is not working on, I ...

He stood with a table filled with goods for sale. I tried hard to keep my eyes focused through the beginnings of a blizzard. It was 1995. It was Berlin. It was winter. It was ...

 Ever had a revelation? Ever, in the middle of everything ordinary, touched the depths of what is mystery ? Despite the post-New Year hangovers, this is just the time for revelations. According to ancient tradition, the 6th ...

I call them desert experiences because they leave me feeling so barren. New Year's Day at Campus , where I work, was the saddest day I've spent there. That day a frigid ...

Ever had a revelation? Ever, in the middle of everything ordinary, touched the depths of what is mystery ? Despite the post-New Year hangovers, this is just the time for revelations. According to ancient tradition, the 6th ...

Opening Patty Griffin's newest album Mil Besos ("1000 Kisses") was like opening a book that I wanted to read in one sitting. And I did. I cued the CD player, wrestled the booklet from ...

I lifted my head off the pillow: The clock read 12:27 AM. I pumped one fist in the air: Yes! I had done it. I had?avoided New Year's Eve. This, then, was ...

Since moving to Florida, I have gained thirteen pounds. Perhaps it's the stress of the move. Perhaps I'm scared and alone and subconsciously seek to fill the void with food. Perhaps it's the fact that ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Throughout the years people from diverse cultures have developed many festive customs in preparation for Christmas. Among the most popular back home in ...

When did this happen? Sometime between donning my grade school uniform and slapping on my work uniform, toting up another day on the Advent calendar became not a cause for celebration but a very good reason ...

There's nothing like cheap impersonal crap for Christmas, is there? A buddy of mine once worked at a company that at the corporate Christmas party proudly presented to each and every employee�an extension cord. Well, hoop ...

Many people have mixed emotions about the holidays. Families separated the entire year are thrust together again under difficult circumstances. Old wounds and resentments resurface. Relatives with whom we have limited contact and conversation suddenly ...

My father is never satisfied with the trees my mother hauls home from the gas station Christmas tree lot. Every year he produces the garden shears and goes about pruning. No one bothers trying to ...