Busted Borders: Nicole (United States)
Nicole, a U.S. citizen, prepares to move her four children to rural Mexico to be with her husband who has been barred from reentering the…
read moreWhere’s God? ep4 — 66 Chevy Impala
Faith, spirituality and religion are too often looked upon as the province of “experts” who spend all their time in places of worship with their…
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A Queer Conversation
Growing up just south of Los Angeles, Sr. Bernadette (Mary) Reis would see her cousin Paul Mages when her family took vacation trips to visit…
read moreCaptain Lou Albano, “Nice Italian Boy”
“Captain” Lou Albano (1933-2009) — professional wrestling legend and star of Cyndi Lauper videos — was what my grandmother called “a nice Italian boy.” Never…
read moreMary Was Here
When I was ten, my favorite movie was Mary Poppins. As it begins, British siblings Jane and Michael Banks write an advertisement listing their requirements…
read moreEpiphany in Peoria
There was something very Miracle on 34th Street about Peoria’s new mall. Opening just before the holidays, the “open-air lifestyle center” promised to recreate the…
read moreConquering the Daisy Complex
Call it the Daisy Complex: So many of us worry ourselves sick — think of that silly game where you pluck the petals off a daisy: “She loves me… she loves me not…” seeking an arbitrary answer — and our fear of rejection keeps us from taking the first steps to happiness.
In his head, Thomas plays out the negative scenarios: He asks her out, she says no, and the friendship is ruined — he’s lost her entirely.
Or, he asks her out, she says yes, but then things don’t work out, and everything is weird after that.
Or…
The scenarios of doom are endless. But one scenario is nearly guaranteed: If Thomas doesn’t ask her out or show his interest, she’ll never know he cares about her that way. And that, to me, is the saddest of all possibilities.
“I know it’s a problem,” Thomas told me. “I just don’t know how to fix it.”
Conquering the Daisy Complex
I gave Thomas two bits of advice… and told him I’d share his story with other young adult readers who might be struggling with similar fears. Here’s my advice. What’s yours?
read moreFor I Was Ill and You Cared For Me
People of faith are not of one political party or the other — not all conservative or all progressive, all right or all left. But most people of faith believe as a core principle that we should love one another and care for one another — that this is how we express Divine Love.
read moreBusted Borders: Walter (Argentina)
Walter did not know he was undocumented until he was applying for college.
read moreA Radical Leaps
On a chilly April night, I’m standing on the stone altar of my childhood church, forehead dripping with chrism, when the guy next to me…
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