Commentary
Is streaming ‘cutting the cord,’ or just the next-best thing?
A decade ago, Americans were grinding their teeth about the cost of cable TV.
Cable franchises, which have monopoly power in most U.S. cities and counties, were jacking up the bills on subscribers because their cable packages included channels subscribers weren’t watching and didn’t want.
Seeing God in the face of a child
“Lord of hosts, restore us; let your face shine on us, that we may be saved” (Ps 80:20).
When it comes to giving, less is more
Every year my sister and I make the same promise to each other. “One year, we’re not going to do presents at all,” we declare over the phone. “And it will be the best Christmas ever.”
A renewed dedication to Advent
We are thoroughly into the season of Advent and we may not have taken out the Advent candles, the blue cloths or the Advent calendar. Instead, we might have gotten so caught up in our list of to-dos and already feel so overwhelmed by the needs of this brief time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that we have not acknowledged this short-lived season of preparation for the coming of Christ in our hearts.
Rudolph to the rescue: the triumph of an under-deer
Then, looking out onto the flickering street lights one foggy winter night, came the inspiration: “A nose! A bright red nose that would shine through fog like a floodlight,” Robert May said.
Effective high tech? Personal connections
In the second half of my corporate career, I had responsibilities for communications. It was all about key messages, platforms and measurement. I served as spokesperson, worked with media and targeted audiences. My husband, Doug, and I retired, relocated to downtown Minneapolis, and began attending Our Lady of Lourdes a few years ago. When we joined our downtown parish, I volunteered to serve as a eucharistic minister. Father Dan Griffith, after asking me a few questions about my experience, commented, “Oh, I have something else in mind for you.” Providence. I am now the director of communications and strategic initiatives at the parish.
(Twin) Cities of saints
Did you remember All Saints Day earlier this November? In Italy, it’d be hard not to. Here, in this peculiarly Catholic country (case in point: the rate of Sunday Mass attendance is lower in Italy than in the U.S., but two soccer players were just suspended by an Italian national league for using the Lord’s name in vain during a game), All Saints Day is a national holiday. Schools, government services and most businesses are closed every year when the Nov. 1 solemnity rolls around.
Taking back delight, one little levitation at a time
There is a lovely maple tree in my front yard that hangs onto its leaves longer than any other tree in the neighborhood. It is a fiery orange and red and every bit as beautiful as you might imagine and always an occasion to lift one’s spirits. Long after every other leaf on my block has been raked and bagged, my front yard maple holds fast, clinging to its beauty with unrelenting delight.
Take all moments of life to prayer
Spiritual leaders, protectors and providers of the faith know that the persistence, vigor and vitality of a daily prayer life are essential to staying alive in Christ. Spiritual combat is active and relentless, and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his many parables about prayer emphasize persistence, watchfulness, humility and the acceptance of the Father’s will in prayer (Mt 5-7). He is our model on how to live a life of prayer, and certainly his earthly parents set an example.
Mission trip exhibits joy of the Gospel
Recently, I was blessed to accompany members of Our Lady of Lourdes’ (Minneapolis) parish justice and charity commission on a visit to its sister parish in Tijuana, Mexico: a mission run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
The fleeing nones
I grew up in a family of seven kids, which I considered a midsized Catholic brood. I knew families that could field entire baseball and even football teams. As a kid, I kept score of such matters and felt that Mom and Dad were lagging.
The more, the merrier
Zipping down the path toward marriage after a few months of dating, my future wife pulled me aside one sunny afternoon and asked how many children I thought would be ideal for our family.
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