Busted Halo » Politics & Culture

United in Praise: Living Out God’s Love With All Creation

Christine M. Elliott — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:05:31 +0000

Easter is a liturgical time when we celebrate the Resurrection of the One who “makes all things new” and anticipate the descent of the Holy Spirit, through whom God creates and “renew[s] the face of the earth,” at Pentecost. While bodily resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit clearly impact the human person, the [...]

Young Evangelicals in the Voting Booth

Marcia Pally — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:05:06 +0000

Politically speaking, what’s up with young evangelicals? Evangelicals are 26 percent of the U.S. population, a quarter of them under 30, and, as the Pew Forum on Religion and Public life reports, “Not since 1972 has generation played such a significant role in voter preferences as it has in recent elections. Younger people have voted [...]

The Actual Real World Is Way More Dramatic than the Reality Series of the Same Name

José Martinez — Wed, 02 May 2012 06:05:49 +0000

I can still remember the feeling of numbness that hit me when I hung up the phone one afternoon last September. I’d been slated to go to Vietnam for six months with a friend of mine, and there were 12 days before we were scheduled to take off. Problem was, most of those six months [...]

The Integrity of Creation

Phil Fox Rose — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:20:28 +0000

One of the first and key places I encountered the spiritual ideas that eventually led to my baptism was Estes Park, high in the Rockies, amidst Birkenstock-wearing radical environmentalists. It was an interesting time for politics in the late 80s and early 90s and I was looking for new ideas. So were lots of people, [...]

‘I Am Trayvon Martin’

Ansel Augustine — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:05:33 +0000

“I am Trayvon Martin!” This has been the rallying cry of so many people (Black and other races too) since the shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old African-American teenager by a neighborhood watch volunteer in a suburb outside Orlando, Florida. The watchman, George Zimmerman, claimed self-defense and said he pursued the young black teenager because he [...]

Fasting from Injustice

Caitlin Kennell Kim — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:05:40 +0000

I have a confession to make. I am horrible at fasting. Epically horrible. My Lenten fast usually devolves into me eating precisely that from which I have vowed to abstain in a shameful and ridiculous display of my apparent lack of self-mastery. And then (good Catholic that I am) I feel guilty. Epically guilty. There [...]

What Works: SOPA, PIPA and the Illusion of Control

Phil Fox Rose — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:05:03 +0000

It was all of 13 minutes after midnight on Tuesday night when I went to look up something in Wikipedia… even though I knew the blackout protest was coming and had posted about it. If you didn’t know what was going on or would like to learn a little more about SOPA and PIPA, with [...]

Myth Busting in the “Mormon Moment”

Neylan McBaine — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:05:49 +0000

Since I wrote for Busted Halo about Mitt Romney’s first run for president in 2008, much has changed in the public landscape regarding knowledge and perceptions of Mormonism. Americans today find themselves swept up in a “Mormon Moment,” thanks to Romney’s second run, Jon Huntsman Jr.’s candidacy, and popular media coverage of The Book of [...]

Prayers, and More, For Freedom

Barbara Wheeler — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:05:48 +0000

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. If you’re Joy Brooks, every day is a chance to raise awareness about the horror of modern-day slavery and trafficking. She started the organization Prayer For Freedom to call people to greater awareness and encourage prayer for change. Human trafficking includes sex trafficking and labor trafficking. It’s estimated that [...]

Seeing Christ in bin Laden

Helen Lee — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:02:53 +0000

When I learned of Osama bin Laden’s death, my immediate reaction was indifference. I didn’t share the jubilant response that seemed to be sweeping the nation, and I didn’t feel much of a sense of relief, either. Then, for a very superficial reason, I realized I was called to more than indifference: I looked at [...]

Being the “Other” on September 11, 2001

Carmel Delshad — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:01:07 +0000

At 13, I walked the halls of my middle school proudly as the smart Egyptian girl who brought in stuffed grape leaves for lunch and baklava for dessert. Like most teens, I was still trying to figure out what it meant to be “me” as I navigated the awkward early years of my teenage life. [...]

Thomas Merton and Our Dad

Peter Williams — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0000

In that cosmically complex and fun butterfly effect way of looking at the world, we may never have been born if it wasn't for Thomas Merton, the world's most prominent Catholic monk and prolific author. Besides being a father himself before entering the monastery and Catholic priesthood (thank God Catholics and spiritual seekers everywhere have such a wild and real role model to look to), Merton has always played a huge role in the mythology and background story of our own father and was always the subject of many memories shared in the evenings over family dinners.

In the early 1960s, inspired by The Seven Storey Mountain, our dad decided to follow what he thought was his calling and go join the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani, the Kentucky monastery made famous by Merton.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Sargent Shriver

Joe Williams — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:05:01 +0000

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Lately I’ve been thinking about the Beatitudes, as well as the Corporal Works of Mercy, thinking that if I could just grasp and follow these fundamentals of the faith, I could actually live the Christian life and truly do what [...]

Faithful Departed: Steve Jobs

Phil Fox Rose — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:05:15 +0000

Steve Jobs was never a corporate man. The early personal computer industry was an outgrowth of the radical back-to-the-land ethos and even the name “Apple” was intentionally folksy and home-brewed. For Jobs, the personal computer wasn’t a way to bring work home or improve the productivity and accountability of employees. His goal was always computer [...]

11 Notable Endings in 2011

Barbara Wheeler — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:02:20 +0000

As the year draws to a close, we’re reminded of many significant endings in 2011. Here’s a short list of what got our (and the world’s) attention. What would you add to the list? U.S. Military Operations in Iraq — After nine years, the Iraq War (also referred to as the Occupation of Iraq, the [...]

Forming A More Perfect Union

Phil Fox Rose — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:00:01 +0000

My relatives are an eclectic bunch, pretty evenly split -- to use crude and somewhat useless political labels -- between Left and Right; our religious diversity includes Catholics, Mormons, evangelicals, United Church of Christ members and a few who are unaffiliated. Throw in my surrogate family (that's a story for another time) and you add Presbyterians, Jews and Buddhists. As we gather around our family table and share letters and cards this holiday season, I will be looking for opportunities to be a healing force.

My family is like millions of others in the United States who come together this time of year for the holidays and struggle to put their passionate differences aside for a few hours. Of course, these divides always existed, but recent years have been different for two reasons. First, major shifts -- generationally and ideologically -- have left many feeling left out of the party, so to speak. Second, politics is the ugliest it's been in modern history. There are plenty of hurt feelings all around. A lot of fear gets stirred up.

In couples counseling, it's an axiom that the most toxic thing to a relationship is not when the partners disagree, or even fight, but when they stop respecting each other. For several generations now, there has been little trust and respect in the political sphere. Both sides have demonized the other, have assumed ill motives on their opponents' parts.

But of all relationships, the deepest and oldest, next to our relationship with God, is family. So, how sad when distrust and lack of respect attacks relationships with literal brothers and sisters.

The Christmas Spirit Survival Guide

John Mattras — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:30:44 +0000

Hollywood families (at least in their writers’ imagination) seem to have warm and fuzzy family Christmas dinners. Mine are more complex. Somehow, the relative morality of another family member invariably becomes a topic of conversation. Over the years, I have developed terms of engagement I consider essential to a healthy, productive holiday conversation about morality. [...]

Faith in Action — Young Adult Volunteers Working With the Poor

Elizabeth A. Elliott — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:05:30 +0000

Poverty is affecting more and more people in today's distressed economy. And young adults are volunteering to work with the poor to help alleviate the imposing challenges they face.

Some turn to formal volunteer service organizations (think Catholic Volunteer Network or Jesuit Volunteer Corps). Leah M. Nusse, recruitment and marketing manager for Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest, said that groups like hers play a role in addressing the need that comes with rising poverty levels. (Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show 46.2 million people or 1 in 6 Americans living in poverty.)

"With an increased need for services and a diminished level of giving and support of the organizations responding to the need, Jesuit Volunteers can help fill a critical void and increase the capacity of our partner organizations to provide their much needed services," she said.

5 Ways to Celebrate A Thankful Thanksgiving

Kevin Kirby — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:03:46 +0000

“Thanksgiving Day is coming; gobble, gobble, gobble. Lets give thanks for this day!” These words are a remnant of the only song about Thanksgiving I remember from my childhood. My family had the main Thanksgiving meal at one grandma’s house in a New Jersey city, then we would pile into my dad’s big Chevy and [...]

Pulling the Plug: Letting Go of Misconceptions

Helen Lee — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:05:20 +0000

In response to a Massachusetts ballot question that would legalize physician-assisted suicide, Boston’s Cardinal Seán O’Malley has encouraged the Catholic legal community to uphold a “gospel of life.” In the past month, Cardinal O’Malley’s remarks have sparked discussion of this issue among laypeople. Some of this discussion has caught my attention, and it’s pretty clear [...]

Canine Ministers of Healing

Elizabeth A. Elliott — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:05:43 +0000

Therapy, it seems, has gone to the dogs. Therapy dogs that visit and attend to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other places offer comfort and support to people. What these dogs provide is as varied as each patient, according to Deanna Klingel, who lives in Sapphire, North Carolina, and has therapy dogs named Lily [...]

Faith Occupies Wall Street

Barbara Wheeler — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:05:28 +0000

As Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protests continue across the country, Busted Halo® went to visit the protest in Zuccotti Park in New York City to see what role people of faith are playing in the movement. While some say the OWS movement lacks a clear message, the message Christians standing with the movement share is [...]

Everything I Could Think Of

Krista Peterson — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:00:21 +0000

After graduation, mascara barely dry from losing the remaining ties to my old life, I joined my former professor’s weekly networking group. I had been working a freelance job designing a website for the summer, but that had ended, and I’d just had my first job interview since graduation. They offered and I accepted without [...]

Unemployed But Not Unhappy

Christina Gebel — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:00:50 +0000

“I actually enjoyed unemployment.” I don’t remember who said this to me, but I do remember agreeing. It seems strange to enjoy an unwanted thing, but I agreed because not every part of it was unwanted. I came to Chicago in 2007, fresh out of college and brimming with idealism. I was going to save [...]

College Football: A New Religion?

Chad Houston — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:00:19 +0000

Here we go, it’s just about fall, and that means it’s football time. College football is quickly becoming the new religion in this country, and there are those who live and die by the success or failure of their beloved football teams. Thousands upon thousands of “parishioners” attend football services every Saturday during the fall, [...]

My Experience Befriending the Alien

Mary Donovan — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:05:23 +0000

Imagine doing everything required to go back to school — buying books and school supplies, and signing up for classes — but instead of everything being a familiar routine, it’s all new because you’re in a new country where you don’t speak the language. Maybe you’ve never been to school. Sounds a little overwhelming, right? [...]

‘Safe With Him’: What We Can Learn from Father Mychal Judge

Ginny Kubitz Moyer — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:00:36 +0000

The first picture I ever saw of Father Mychal Judge was a photo of his dead body. In the days following 9/11, I was haunted by the image of four men carrying the New York City fire department chaplain away from the Twin Towers. With the firefighters he served, Judge answered the calls for help, only to lose his life at Ground Zero. He was the first registered death of 9/11. At first, I saw him as a tragic figure, a searing example of this country’s wounds. Since learning about his life, though, my perspective has shifted. Now I see him as a symbol of compassion, a vivid example of what it means to heal and be healed.

Labor Day Dignity

Jonathan Currie — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:00:20 +0000

God calls us to announce the good news of God’s preferential option for the poor, for those who suffer the most among us. Indeed God’s love enfolds the entire human community equally and unceasingly, but it is with those who endure hardship that the Holy Spirit swells up foremost. And it is among them that we are called to stand in faith and solidarity.

Reflection on Oslo Attacks: Overcoming Fear

Courtney Crisp — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:05:42 +0000

Ever since the Oslo attacks my heart has started racing a little faster every time I board the U-Bahn in the morning. It races even faster when I disembark and make the 10-minute walk through the incredibly tourist-dense section of Berlin where I work. Pushing past Gypsies, I scan German, American, and British tourists’ faces checking out the remains of the Berlin Wall and can't help but wonder, could something like that ever happen here? Oslo is such a sleepy European city; surely Berlin has to be an even bigger target. Quite frankly, it scares me. I try to quiet my racing thoughts when they start circling irrationally. I hate that when I am afraid I feel like I am letting the terrorists win.

Responding to Hunger, Drought and Famine in East Africa

Laura Sheahen — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:05:52 +0000

Fleeing war and famine, fighting off attacks from bandits and lions, thousands of refugees are flooding out of Somalia on foot each week. Busted Halo contributor Laura Sheahen, a communications officer with the humanitarian aid group Catholic Relief Services, looks back on her first days in some of the refugee camps that are receiving them. Let us remember our sisters and brothers in East Africa in our prayers.

Day one

Small plane to airstrip in Dadaab, a tiny, broken-down town in northeast Kenya. Blinding clouds of dust billow from the car in front of us as we make our way to our local partner's compound. Dust instantly coats everything we carry. The same dust has swallowed up any hope of growing crops or raising livestock across the border in Somalia, where the drought and famine are worst.