A blog post by Shanell Mouland titled “Dear Daddy in Seat 16C” went viral recently. Mouland felt nervous about who would wind up sitting next to her three-year-old daughter Kate during their flight from Orlando, Florida, back home to Canada. The reason? Kate has autism and could have meltdowns. When a businessman carrying papers sat down and Kate started rubbing his arm, Mouland feared he would give her the look that says, “Manage your child please.” Instead, he engaged Kate... Read more
After an “American Idol” season with a judging panel that seemed like a five-month-long Thanksgiving dinner with two feuding aunts who simultaneously try to ignore each other while dissing each other, the show has returned to being the type of TV comfort food it’s supposed to be. The newest incarnation of the panel features returning judges (though from different seasons) Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez joined by newbie judge Harry Connick Jr. And in terms of chemistry (at least based... Read more
In this week’s reflection, Father Jonathan Morris shares his thoughts on forgiveness, one of the most challenging calls of the Christian life. We come up with a myriad of excuses for not forgiving others who have wronged us. Yet God gave us His only Son so that we might be redeemed and forgiven. If He did that for us, we also need to model that behavior towards each other. How can we do it? Father Jonathan offers some ideas. Read more
“Last time I asked for God’s help, He put me here,” 16-year-old Apple Bailey angrily tells the priest visiting her in the hospital following a car accident. “Perhaps you’re exactly where you’re meant to be,” the priest responds. That exchange in the movie “Gimme Shelter” (in wide release on January 24) eventually leads to an epiphany for Apple (Vanessa Hudgens), who is homeless, pregnant, and struggling to escape from the grip of her abusive, drug-addicted mother (Rosario Dawson). Though she... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Building Spiritual Friendships.” If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: The definition of “friendship” has taken some hits in recent years. After all, we live in a world where social media allows us to “friend” or “unfriend” someone with the click of our computer or smartphone. But that’s precisely why face-to-face and heart-to-heart friendship is needed more than ever. These are the times... Read more
The love of parents for their children has always been a theme on the TV series “Once Upon a Time.” Mothers and fathers have gone to great lengths – both good and evil – to keep their children safe. In the cases of the show’s villains, learning to love a child selflessly has been the path to virtue and redemption. But on a recent episode entitled “The New Neverland” (written by Andrew Chambliss and directed by Ron Underwood), the show... Read more
In this week’s reflection, Father Jonathan Morris shares part of the story behind Father James Keller’s founding of The Christophers in 1945. Specifically, he references Father Keller’s travels to the Far East in the 1920s, where he saw the influence of the communist party there. Another pivotal moment for Father Keller came when he stood in a completely-darkened Metropolitan Opera House in New York City and noticed the power of a single lit match to dispel the darkness. Those experiences... Read more
Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Sarah Hart has a gift for music and lyrics so it’s a good thing she didn’t follow through on her initial career goals of becoming an archaeologist or pediatrician. During an interview with me on Christopher Closeup, Sarah laughingly recalled a conversation she had with her band director in high school. He asked her what her career aspirations were and she responded, “I might want to be a doctor.” He just looked at her and said, “Honey,... Read more
In Father Jonathan Morris’s Christmas message, he reflects on the idea that God so loved the world that He humbled Himself by giving us His only Son in a form that we would more openly welcome Him: in the form of a baby – a baby who reminds us of how good humanity can be, who pushes us toward getting in touch with the “better angels of our nature,” and who ultimately redeems us. Human history is full of examples... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Making Christmas Happy and Holy.” If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of the Christmas season. We know in our hearts that this is supposed to be a time of peace and joy and love, a season set apart for spiritual depth and growth—but it can be hard to pull that off when we’re... Read more
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