Yesterday I accompanied a group of 50 Boston College students to see the film Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et Des Dieux), the story of the kidnapping and murder of the monks of Tibhirine, in Algeria, in 1996. (I’ve also written on this film here.) It’s a beautifully told and acted story: the film [...]
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As I deepen my love for my friend, I come to know what she likes and dislikes. I come to see the world through her eyes, and thereby experience it anew. What once was trite and meaningless to me now becomes an object of wonder, when I look at it with her. This deepening friendship [...]
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A ship may be tossed on the seas, buffeted by storms of every sort. Its crew may be struggling mightily every day simply to keep it afloat, wearying themselves, becoming chilled to the bone. They may fear for their lives every day, and regret ever having set sail with the hopes of adventure and fame [...]
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Somewhere nearby—perhaps a co-worker in the next cubicle; a friend across the room; a stranger in the chair next to you; a spouse beside you in bed; a child clawing at your leg for attention–there, now, is an opportunity for love. Before you is God’s invitation to know him. Do not delay; do not postpone [...]
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The Archdiocese of Chicago is opening the legal process for the canonization of Father Augustus Tolton, a late 19th century priest, and the first who was African-American. The story is good on so many levels, but I’ll focus on two. The first is that it is communities who make saints. God’s work on us as [...]
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With Valentine’s Day coming up I’m taking the initiative to get folks thinking about love. Here’s a clip that I sometimes make reference to in my classes, from the 1997 film As Good As It Gets. If you can’t see the video, click here. Ignatius wrote that “love shows itself more in deeds than in [...]
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If you don’t know Viktor Frankl’s work, read his book Man’s Search for Meaning–one of the most important books of the 20th century. Below is a short video of a presentation he gave at a 1972 conference in Toronto, in which he offers a basic thesis about psychotherapy that applies more broadly to life: we [...]
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This past Sunday was the feast of the Holy Family, and it calls to our imagination that “longest sermon” of Jesus first thirty years, as Cardinal Seán O’Malley called it. I remember, as a teenager, wondering what Jesus was like as a teenager. (What did he do with rushing hormones, for example?) As a father, [...]
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Where is Christ being born today? It certainly isn’t where we expect, if history is any guide. Where, today, is that stable at the obscure roadside inn in the little backwoods burgh? Perhaps it is in Malawi, where Ambition’s imagination shapes clay like the hands of God. Perhaps it is in your town. He is [...]
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