On a quiet afternoon at Montclair State University some years ago, I had a profound conversation with a colleague who'd become a dear friend. Though not Catholic herself, she was a faithful, devout Christian whose…

The term "gaslight" has re-entered our vocabulary in the last decade. Which is pretty remarkable when you realize the origin of it comes from nearly a century ago, from an obscure British play, called, unsurprisingly…

The selfie phenomenon is something I still struggle to understand. Taking pictures of yourself with your smartphone wherever you go and sharing them with the world through social media feels bizarre – even more so…

Have you ever walked into a movie halfway through? That's what today's Gospel might feel like. We hear about "Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices" and "eighteen people killed by a falling tower…

Fifteen years ago, a single photograph in a magazine captured something extraordinary: a father lifting his 16-month-old son toward heaven, both faces alive with joy. The image accompanied "A Letter to My Son," written by…

What makes you “fully awake” and “frightened?”  In our hyper-connected world, the list seems endless. Turn on the news, check social media, or simply talk with friends and family – we're bombarded with reasons for…

The devil is a master of logic.  Not real logic, mind you, but the kind that sounds absolutely reasonable in the moment – the kind that makes you nod your head and think, "Well, when…

          “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  These ancient words we hear as the ashes are traced as a cross on our foreheads at the start of this sacred season…