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Blessed By Being Seen
To really see someone, especially someone who looks up to you, is to give that person an important blessing. In a gaze of recognition, of understanding, in an appreciative look,
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Truth Comes Tainted
“Sometimes I think the whispering in the ward at night sounds very Catholic. Perhaps that’s why I think so much about you (Mother). You were my religion for so many
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A Humbled Heart
In his latest book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen suggests that one of the main things that has to happen in order for us to come to
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Your Dad Only Dies Once
It’s a hard thing going through life without adequate self-expression. How painful not to be an artist, not to be able to draw or paint or carve into stone or
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Therapy of Public Life
Twenty five years ago, Philip Rieff wrote a very important book entitled The Triumph of the Therapeutic. In it, he argued that widespread reliance upon private therapy arose in the
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Truth and Beauty
In a recent interview, Mary Gordon, one of the brightest young novelists in America, commented on the Catholicism that she was raised on and how she feels about the church
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Sex is a Moral Issue
Recently I read an article within which a fairly respected Catholic moralist commented that the church is too hung up on sex. It has, in his words, an obsession with
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Of Oranges and Pennies
This summer, on a couple of occasions, a particular skepticism of mine was assaulted. You see, I am one of those people whose faith allows for God to do big,
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Kissing the Leper
There is a story told about Francis of Assisi, perhaps more mythical than factual, which illustrates how touching the poor is the cure for a mediocre and dying faith: One
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Sex And Morality
Recently I read an article within which a fairly respected Catholic moralist commented that the church is too hung up on sex. It has, in his words, an obsession with