The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Pope Francis: The Roots of a Humble Leader” (which was written by a freelancer). If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: Pope Francis has demonstrated a way of humble leadership from the outset of his papacy through his down to earth manner and beautiful gestures of love and compassion towards those in need. And, like many effective leaders, his life reflects a realization... Read more
Throughout history, people with intellectual disabilities like Down Syndrome have often been shunned by society and even violently abused. But Special Olympics’ Chairman Tim Shriver has found that the young people he’s worked with have been his greatest teachers because of their kindness, wisdom, determination, and inherent dignity. His interest in intellectual disabilities stems partly from the fact that his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded Special Olympics because of her sister Rosemary’s affliction. Tim joined me recently on “Christopher Closeup”... Read more
Let’s say you were in a car accident. Your vehicle sustained some minor damage, but you escaped unscathed. Would you complain, “Darn it, that wasn’t as bad as I expected!” – or would you say, “Thank God, it wasn’t that bad.” Most of us would naturally say the latter – and that’s the approach we should take with the much-hyped “Blizzard of 2015” if we live in an area that wasn’t hit as hard as predicted. If you’re in New... Read more
First Baptist Church of Marble Falls, Texas, started a video series in which they record five kids retelling Bible stories as they remember them. Then they have adults act out the kids’ version. Here is the first in the series featuring the parable of the unmerciful servant from Matthew 18:21-34. Note: it’s probably a little funnier than you remember it. (Photo property of First Baptist Church of Marble Falls) Read more
Over at her Pursued by Truth blog, Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP, wondered why the recent massacre of thousands in Nigeria didn’t get much attention in the media initially. Compared to the Paris terrorist attacks, the coverage is still minimal. Her post reminded me of a song I heard a few months ago. Though it was inspired by a different situation, “A Far Away Reality” by Jonathan Jackson + Enation asks many of the same questions. As I wrote about... Read more
Last night’s “American Idol” included an accordion player, a banjo player, yodeling, and Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban dueting on the “Beverly Hillbillies” theme song. In other words, I was in entertainment heaven. The duet made me smile so I’m posting it here just for fun. And here’s the full audition of bluegrass musician Ellen Petersen, who got Harry and Keith thinking along those lines. (Photo above property of 19 TV Ltd, Fremantle Media North America, and Fox) Read more
Lisa Hendey admits that she’s been a “control freak and Type A personality” in her past – and still occasionally is today. But when the blogger, author, speaker, and CatholicMom.com founder looked back on her life, she realized that some of her greatest accomplishments came not when everything went according to her plans, but rather when she surrendered to God’s will. That epiphany is part of the motivation for her latest book, “The Grace of Yes: Eight Virtues for Generous... Read more
(Photo property of CBS, Warner Brothers Television, and Chuck Lorre Productions) A few years ago I was watching “The Big Bang Theory” and the clip below was a part of the story. It features the show’s smart-but-prickly character Sheldon comedically explaining why those air-blowing hand dryers in public rest rooms are actually unsanitary. After the show, I looked it up online and found that this is actually true. Since then I’ve used paper whenever possible to dry my hands. So... Read more
Vincent McKenna (Bill Murray) lives like a slob. He smokes, drinks, gambles, and curses too much. He’s rude to his neighbors and people in general. And he cavorts with a prostitute. Despite all these negative qualities, he is the title character in the film “St. Vincent,” written and directed by Theodore Melfi. So what exactly is saintly about Vincent? First off, consider this. There’s a book about actual canonized saints called “Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Practicing Patience” (which was written by a freelancer). If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: “It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities.” — Proverbs 16:32 We don’t like to wait. It’s built in somehow. When we’re kids, we want to be teenagers. Teenagers want to be in college. College students... Read more
Christopher Closeup
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