Christopher Closeup Podcast – Guests: 1) Sister Rosemary Dowd, and 2) Monica Brown When author Monica Brown first read about traveling librarian Luis Soriano, she felt inspired to write a children’s book about him. After all, this was a man who braved attacks by snakes and armed bandits so he could carry books to poor children in rural Colombia on his two donkeys, Alfa and Beto. Promoting literacy and education to the younger generation – especially those with little access... Read more
St. John of the Cross once said, “Put love where there is no love, and you will find love.” During my Christopher Closeup interview with Sister Rosemary Dowd, RSCJ, she cited that statement several times when explaining the motivation behind her 40 years of work with prisoners. Currently the chaplain of Cook County Jail in Chicago, Sister Rosemary joined her order, the Religious of the Sacred Heart, when it was still semi-cloistered. After Vatican II, it became possible for her... Read more
With the popularity of the Academy Award-winning film “The Artist,” silent movies appear to be back in style this year. Watching this video about a mother who chose life for her disabled child reminded me of a silent movie not just because this mother uses title cards to tell her story, but also because of how expressive her face is. There’s a genuineness of emotion there that’s truly touching. Since Sunday is Mother’s Day, here is one Mom’s story: Read more
Like much of America and the world, I shelled out $10 to see “The Avengers” this weekend and I wasn’t disappointed. Writer/Director Joss Whedon managed to take what could have been an unwieldy superhero story with a lot of characters – and turn it into an entertaining, funny, action-packed film with well-integrated themes about courage and sacrifice. Unexpectedly, the movie even included a couple of moderately religious moments, both of them inspired by the primary villain, Loki, who considers himself... Read more
Christopher Closeup podcast – Guest: Amy Julia Becker After her daughter, Penny, was unexpectedly born with Down syndrome, Amy Julia Becker experienced an emotional and spiritual crisis. As someone who was deeply devoted to her Christian faith and who even attended Princeton Theological Seminary, she naively thought things like this weren’t supposed to happen to her. But as Amy Julia grew to love and bond with her daughter, she got an education in love, God’s grace, and strength-in-weakness that no... Read more
Sometimes a TV show can remind you of life’s little truths. That’s what happened to me while watching an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” about what happens when Andy hires Malcolm, a visitor to Mayberry, to help Aunt Bea with her chores around the house. Aunt Bea, for those who don’t know, is like a lovable grandmother who cooks, bakes, cleans and generally cares for her loved ones. Andy hires help because he thinks she’s overworked and deserves to... Read more
College student Shannon Hickey won the James Keller Award at last year’s Christopher Awards ceremony for starting a ministry for the homeless called “Mychal’s Message” when she was 11-years-old. It was created in honor of family friend, Father Mychal Judge, the first person killed on the ground at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Shannon has been studying Communications and Broadcasting in college, and she recently put together this video about “Mychal’s Message” and the work they do. It’s definitely... Read more
The Christophers’ Sarah Holinski shares her review of the Christopher Award-winning book for tweens, “Words in the Dust” by Trent Reedy: Thirteen-year-old Zulaikha Frouton is an Afghani girl who was born to stand out in an unfortunately painful way—she has a noticeably disfigured cleft lip. Having lost her birth mother at a young age to the brutality of the Taliban, Zulaikha has formed a strong bond with her older sister Zeynab, who is sixteen. She also has an elder brother... Read more
Our latest Christopher News Note topic was suggested by many of our supporters who believe that connecting the younger generation with their elders is of vital importance to our culture and society. Here’s a snippet: Think back to your childhood. Did you have a grandparent who played an important role in your life? Perhaps your grandmother read you stories or taught you how to knit, or maybe your grandfather took you fishing or showed you how to use a compass.... Read more
Below is the spring appeal letter that was mailed out to Christopher supporters. It will be a rare occurrence that I post an appeal for financial support on this blog, but if you can offer any prayers or help, please thoughtfully consider it: “People everywhere hunger for spiritual nourishment as much as they do for their daily bread. It is a deep consolation to know that we have been able to supply even a tiny crumb of that nourishment.” Father... Read more
Christopher Closeup
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