I usually use this space to share with you the stories of people who I’ve interviewed on our “Christopher Closeup” radio show, to comment on different aspects of popular culture, to post Christopher News Notes, or to highlight inspiring stories that are making the rounds online or in the news. Today I’m changing my approach a little to write about some of the mail we receive about our literature. For instance, our longest running ministry is our Christopher News Notes.... Read more
Country music singer Sunny Sweeney took the above photo and posted it on Facebook along with this message: “I watched this whole thing go down in an airport and felt like sharing it with you. This young military man, Michael (full name was on his backpack) was standing here about to board a plane and a random man walked up and said thank you for your service. Then asked if he could pray for his safety. I started crying of... Read more
It was his time on Purgatory that turned billionaire playboy Oliver Queen into a killer. It was a reality check from his family and friends that helped him rediscover an inherent dignity to life. For those unfamiliar with the name, Oliver Queen is the longtime DC Comics hero known as Green Arrow, an archery master whose most recent incarnation is as the subject of the popular CW series “Arrow,” created by writers/producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg. Now... Read more
“How long shall it be till the end of these troubles?” That’s a quote from the Book of Daniel that’s spoken by a refugee from the Sudanese Civil War in the new movie “The Good Lie” – and it accurately reflects the violence and hardship endured by boys and girls there throughout those horrific times. During the mid-1980s, more than 100,000 children in Sudan were displaced or orphaned because of the civil war that raged for political and religious reasons.... Read more
Father Jonathan Morris comes from a family of seven kids, so he knows about “family drama.” But he acknowledges that even small families have their challenges because of “the nature of humanity.” So how should you deal with those inevitable arguments and disagreements in light of your Christian faith and the fact that God gave the family a “holy nature?” Watch the video for Father Jonathan’s insights. Read more
Here’s a press release about an upcoming reality show on Lifetime TV about five young women who are considering becoming nuns. Los Angeles, CA (September 30, 2014) – The all-new groundbreaking Lifetime® series The Sisterhood (#Sisterhood) follows five young women who are considering the life-changing decision of taking religious vows to become Catholic nuns. For the first time ever, cameras were granted access to three convents* where the women live and work together alongside nuns during the discernment phase, the... Read more
ComicEarth.com creator Brian Montfort is a cartoonist in Texas who recently started having his work published in the “North Texas Catholic” newspaper. He has a knack for finding gentle humor in Catholic culture and faith traditions. Th strip below, for instance, was inspired by the amount of posts he saw on Facebook saying that if you “Like” a particular post you’ll go to heaven. This one is obviously an homage to St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of lost... Read more
Writing for the USA Swimming website, Mike Gustafson yesterday reflected on all the bad press generated by football players lately, declaring himself “disgusted, tired, and exhausted of what is seemingly the never-ending news cycle of Men Behaving Badly In Sports.” Sports figures are sometimes automatically declared “role models,” but recent reports indicate that shouldn’t be the case. However, when Gustafson looked to the swimming world that he covers, he found two young women he believes are setting a good example:... Read more
The following column was written by The Christophers’ Jerry Costello: You might say that Sister Teresa Fitzgerald’s life has been one of two callings. The first one came some years ago when, out of a quiet upbringing in Hewlett, N.Y., on Long Island, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood. There she seemed destined for a dedicated career as a Catholic school teacher and administrator – one that attracted so many of her contemporaries – and she followed... Read more
Not only was the premiere of the CBS series “Madam Secretary” an entertaining introduction to what could be an insightful character study and exploration of Washington’s political establishment, it gave more air time to Thomas Aquinas than the “Summa Theologica” author has likely had since Fulton Sheen wrote notes on a chalkboard every week. Created by veteran writer/producer Barbara Hall (who won a Christopher Award for her series “Joan of Arcadia”), “Madam Secretary” revolves around former CIA analyst Elizabeth McCord... Read more
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