An act of Christian kindness doesn’t always change someone’s life as dramatically as it did Joseph Kim’s, but in his case, it’s not an understatement to say that it saved him. Kim was born in North Korea and given the name Kwang Jin, which means “moving forward with brightness.” He and his older sister Bong Sook lived modestly but comfortably with their mother and their father, who held a minor government job. Despite his mother’s depression, Kim found joy in... Read more
(The following is an entry from our latest “Three Minutes a Day” book of daily stories and reflections, which can be purchased via The Christophers’ website.) “Everything is grace.” Those words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (a.k.a. The Little Flower) were spoken when she was dying of tuberculosis and experiencing a long spiritual darkness. Yet she chose to believe in God’s love anyway, a remarkable act of faith. Father Bob Colaresi, O. Carm., Director of the Society of the Little... Read more
Everybody’s heard of the TV series “Sesame Street,” but what you may not know is that Father James Keller, the founder of The Christophers, was an inspiration to Joan Ganz Cooney, who created the show. During her college years, she heard him give a talk about the need for people to get into the media, writing, and entertainment industries to create quality programming grounded in good values. She took that advice to heart, and it guided her efforts. In fact,... Read more
(Photo property of Katie Driscoll) As the mom of six children, including a daughter with Down syndrome, photographer Katie Driscoll noticed that she rarely saw advertisements featuring kids with disabilities. She then co-founded a campaign called “Changing the Face of Beauty.” Its purpose was to encourage advertisers to highlight more individuals with disabilities in their work. That campaign for more diversity has paid off, and more companies are taking up Katie’s challenge. Katie joined me recently on “Christopher Closeup” to... Read more
(Photo property of Principal Financial Group) I was surprised the other day to see a TV commercial for Principal Financial Group, which highlights the choice of adoption when faced with infertility. It was a storyline I’d never seen in a commercial before, much less in 30 seconds. You can watch it for yourself below. Stay in touch! Like The Christophers on Facebook: The Christophers Read more
Deacon Don Grossnickle served the Archdiocese of Chicago for many years as a Disability Outreach Coordinator. That job tied into his work as founder of the Gridiron Alliance, an organization that supports high school athletes who’ve suffered spinal cord injuries. The deacon would help these young people adjust to their new situations, and also develop in them spiritual resilience that would help them deal with their futures. In May 2016, Deacon Don needed some spiritual resilience of his own after... Read more
Hitler analogies and political circuses may seem like a modern aspect of electioneering, but history tells a different story, as evidenced in John Dickerson’s new book “Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History,” which manages to be an educational, entertaining, and often surprising exploration of the good, bad and ugly of running for the highest office in the land. The moderator of “Face the Nation” and host of the “Whistlestop” podcast on Slate.com recently joined me on “Christopher Closeup”... Read more
(Moderate spoilers ahead) Do you believe in the Divine Delivery Theory? That’s what postal detective Shane McInerney calls her boss (and potential suitor) Oliver O’Toole’s approach to the mail they receive in Colorado’s Dead Letter Office. “We don’t find the dead letters,” she explains to Oliver’s father Joe. “They find us. Just in time to be delivered.” Joe asks, “You believe every letter that finds you is on some supernatural schedule?” Oliver responds, “Yes.” Shane adds, “Well, some of us... Read more
(This review was based on a screener which was missing some special effects shots and a few scenes.) “Welcome. Everything is fine.” Most of us would likely be happy to be greeted by that message when we enter the afterlife. Eleanor Shellstrop sure is. But as time goes by, it turns out things are not so fine after all. The reason: she discovers that she is not the orphan-rescuing, death row lawyer Eleanor Shellstrop that is supposed to be in... Read more
(The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Teach Yourself to Think More Clearly.” If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post.) Solutions to problems large and small, from international relations to conditions in your own community, should not be oversimplified. Neither should they be needlessly complicated. The wonderful depth and flexibility of the human mind is a tribute to divine wisdom and generosity. But most people go through an entire lifetime... Read more
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