When I was in high school we read a short German story entitled Immensee. It’s the story of a love that never happened, but that should have, except that the tragic hero of our story was never able to express his love to the woman he loved. So, he ended up alone with an aching…
There is an instance in the Gospels where, while Jesus is speaking, a woman from the crowd calls out to him: “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” (Luke 11, 27). In effect, she is saying: “You must have a wonderful mother! Look how you turned out!” Jesus responds…
In 1979, Sheldon Vanauken published a book entitled A Severe Mercy; in it he tells the story of the death of his wife, Davey. The book is an account of an extraordinary romance, cut short while still in full bloom by Davey’s premature death. This story has intrigued many people, both because of the extraordinary…
In telling his faith story, C.S. Lewis shares that at the moment of his conversion, he was “the most reluctant convert in the history of Christianity”, but that he gave himself over to Christ because “God’s compulsion is our liberation”. That phrase spoke to me recently when, on September 8, I celebrated the 60th anniversary…
I once had the privilege of taking a course from James Mackey. In class one day he shared this story. A man he knew was part of a hunting expedition in Africa. His group was camped in a jungle. One morning he left camp early, hiked a few miles into the bush by himself, and…
A woman once shared this story in one of my classes: She had been raised in a religious home and had been a regular churchgoer. However, during her years at university her interest and practice in religion had progressively slipped so that by the time of her graduation she no longer attended church or prayed…
We live in a world where, as Karl Rahner says, our lives are always an unfinished symphony. In this life there is no final fulfilment. Mostly we are unconscious of that, and also unaware that this creates a certain gap inside us that makes us grasp greedily at life. But certain things can help bring…
Every year I try to write an article on suicide because it is perhaps the most misunderstood of all deaths and it wreaks a unique havoc among the family and the loved ones left behind. They are left with a blizzard of ambivalent and conflicting feelings: shame (What a shameful way to die); guilt (Somehow…
When I reflect on the spirituality I was raised on, I’m deeply grateful. No spirituality is perfect, but what I have been given through our rich Christian tradition stands up to the challenges of life and of faith. But if I had one criticism it would be this: For all its richness, Christian spirituality hasn’t…
Something in us is dissatisfied with the ordinary. There’s something in the ordinary that can have us think that predictable routines, domestic rhythms, and commitment to duty can weigh us down, swallow us up, and anchor us outside the more rewarding waters of passion, romance, creativity, dance, and celebration. We often vilify the ordinary. I…