Burning down the house

This morning a friend sent me an op-ed from the Washington Post. It was written by Marc Thiessen; in full disclosure I am not a fan of his work. Thiessen, a former speech writer for President George W. Bush, wrote a book defending “enhanced interrogation methods.” Most of us would call that torture, and it does not square with Catholic teaching, and Thiessen is Catholic. So that is where I stand on him; needless to say I did not love this column and its distinctly not Catholic gloom and doom outlook.

Today I also read a column by the editor of the Albany Times Union, Rex Smith. It too was about burning churches, but took an entirely different tack. In full disclosure once more, I first met Rex in the Albany airport in 2007, when I walked up to him and introduced myself, much to Mark’s chagrin! And years later I began to post my blog as part of the paper’s blogging platform, something I continue to do.

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Soul Seeing

A brief post – I am so happy to announce that an essay of mine has been included in a new compilation from Orbis Books. Soul Seeing, Light, Love, Forgiveness is a beautiful collection of essays and reflections from a wide variety of writers. Many of these works have been featured in the Soul Seeing column at the National Catholic Reporter, which is lovingly shepherded by Michael Leach, Publisher Emeritus at Orbis Books.

How grateful I am that “It All Tastes Like Love,” my Soul Seeing column from 2011 was selected to be included in this volume. It is an honor to be among the giants found in these pages. And I cannot lie – I am recommending this book. Not because of me, because of all the light, love, and forgiveness you will find in its pages!

The Nones Are Alright – a book review

My day job as parish secretary brings me into contact with numerous people, often seeking sacraments; one of the most frequent being infant baptism. A young mom or dad reaches out, sometimes tentatively, to inquire about how to proceed. More often than not, they are not regular church-goers, sometimes they were married at the parish, or simply grew up there. It is a joy to encounter them and help them in whatever way I can. If they follow through, it becomes my job to collect information so that the great welcome of the new child can begin.

That’s when it might get sticky, when I get to godparent(s) requirements. According to Canon Law