While Father Jonathan Morris is frequently on television, he made the news not long ago because of an incident that happened in his parish. A man outside his church was attacked by two pitbulls. Other people in the area stepped in to beat the dogs off the victim and, in the process, were injured themselves. Father Jonathan gave the shirt off his back (literally) to use as a tourniquet that would halt the victim’s bleeding. That experience prompted Father Jonathan... Read more
If the Bruce Willis movie “Die Hard” is too violent for your tastes, you might better enjoy this spoof of the movie called “Jewish Die Hard with Phil Rosenthal.” As he’s crawling through air ducts, Rosenthal declares, “Oy, am I schvitzing.” And he even brings a religious dimension to the humor by invoking the story of Hanukkah in his battle of wits against Hans Gruber. If you need a laugh today, take three minutes to watch “Jewsih Die Hard.” Jewish... Read more
(All photos property of The International Academy of Hope) I’ve written about The International Academy of Hope (iHope) before on this blog. It’s the first school in New York City that provides children with traumatic brain injuries with an education along with therapies that teach them to walk and talk. Today, the good folks at iHope posted a video and some pictures of one of their students, Samandar, taking his first steps around the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Not only... Read more
Every December, I rewatch classic TV Christmas episodes either on DVD or via reruns on cable. Series like “Frasier” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” had multiple Christmas shows over the years, including some great ones such as Raymond’s “Christmas Present,” in which Ray (Ray Romano) hopes to get Debra’s (Patricia Heaton’s) approval to go on a golfing weekend by buying her an expensive gift – and “Frasier Grinch,” in which Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) rediscovers his dad Martin’s (John Mahoney) penchant for... Read more
“Excuse me, lady. Do you have any spare change? I’m hungry.” Those were the first words that 11-year-old Maurice Mazyck spoke to Laura Schroff as she passed him on a New York City street back in 1986. Schroff, a successful advertising executive, initially said, “No,” but then she reconsidered because the words “I’m hungry” stuck with her. Even at that time in Manhattan, when the streets were filled with the homeless, seeing a child asking for money was unusual. She... Read more
“If I knew things would no longer be, I would have tried to remember better.” That’s a line from the 1990 movie “Avalon,” which comes to mind every Christmas season because it’s a time of year that prompts me to reflect on the past and the best gift I ever received. It was December 24, 1980, and the wait was grueling. My 11-year-old self had asked for the popular “large size Star Wars action figures” for Christmas, and I couldn’t... Read more
In light of all the talk about the power of prayer going on today, I was reminded of my 2012 interview with “Nashville” and “General Hospital” actor Jonathan Jackson, during which I asked him why he thanked the monks of Mount Athos during his Daytime Emmy Award acceptance speech. He explained that he’d never been to “the Holy Mountain,” as it’s called in Greece. Yet he saw documentaries about it and was impressed by the fact that the monks in... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Finding Serenity in Silence” (which was written by a freelancer). If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: Silence is a rare commodity these days, and serenity sometimes seems like a long lost dream. In our fast-moving, wired-for-speed society, even our down time is filled with sound and fury. Sitting down for a few minutes of concentrated silence can feel like an exercise in... Read more
Since it’s Giving Tuesday, the day in which people are encouraged to make donations to their favorite charities, I’m posting this video by Father Jonathan Morris on the definition of stewardship and the work of The Christophers. For instance, you may not know that Christopher literature gets sent to diocesan prison ministries free of charge – and it’s much appreciated. Deacon Peter Andre, director of Prison Ministry for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, wrote to thank us after we sent... Read more
Despite its popularity, I’ve never been tempted to watch an episode of “Scandal” because the show sounds too dark and cynical for my tastes. But I do read about the show. It’s hard not to because it garners so much press coverage and adulation. That’s been especially true recently because last week’s episode ended with lead character Olivia Pope’s abortion while “Silent Night” played in the background. Many people denounced show creator Shonda Rimes for basically giving the middle finger... Read more
Christopher Closeup
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