Gossip hardens our hearts

Last updated on: October 2, 2012 at 11:33 am By Phil Fox Rose

Gossip originally meant godparent (from God + sibb). To gossip means to take an interest in the personal affairs of someone who isn't a family member as if they were in fact a relative. A godparent takes on that role righteously. A gossip does so when they shouldn't. Many people know rumormongering is technically bad, but feel justified if it involves someone they don't like. That doesn't make it OK, any more than it would justify physically attacking them -- spreading rumors or slander about a person is an act of verbal violence and it's never justifiable. Read more

Are moral grounds a good reason to refuse to vote among the viable candidates?

Last updated on: October 1, 2012 at 1:49 pm By Phil Fox Rose

This year, I'm hearing friends on both sides of the political spectrum advocating withholding your vote from both major parties based not on political calculus or social goals, but rather, by morality. People are repulsed by the idea of casting a vote that seems to be saying they endorse something they consider to be morally inexcusable. What do you think? Are moral grounds a good reason to refuse to vote among the viable candidates? Are they a bad reason? Have you ever done it? Would you? Read more

President Obama’s U.N. speech on the way out of violence

Last updated on: September 26, 2012 at 2:52 pm By Phil Fox Rose

On Tuesday, President Obama spoke before the United Nations General Council. Whether you support him or not, I recommend you watch this half hour speech to understand his view. What the president presented, in the wake of the recent violence and death of Ambassador Chris Stevens, is a vision of the way out of this cycle of violence. President Obama’s key points in the speech are firmly grounded in America’s founding principles of free speech and free religion, and in... Read more

Why to meditate

Last updated on: September 25, 2012 at 11:04 am By Phil Fox Rose

In a famous exchange, Dan Rather asked Mother Teresa of Calcutta what she says in prayer and she replied, "I don't say anything. I listen." Rather asked, "Well, then when you pray, what does God say?" She said, "He doesn't say anything either. He listens." I often describe meditation in this way: Imagine you and a loved one on the couch, each sitting quietly, not talking, just being in each other's presence. Not thinking, simply loving. You don't need to talk. Meditation in the Christian tradition is sitting in the presence of God -- not expecting answers, just being. And like sitting with a loved one, this simple act is heartening and strengthening. Read more

Jesus said, “My wife…”, then chuckled and added, “Let’s just leave it there and see what happens in a few millennia.”

Last updated on: September 24, 2012 at 11:06 am By Phil Fox Rose

The most interesting thing about this whole kerfuffle is that it shouldn't be controversial at all. What has been found, even if authentic, is not a marriage certificate with Jesus' and Mary Magdalene's signatures. It is, rather, an account from 300+ years later that may be asserting Jesus had a wife. We're left with the question, What if? And my answer is, Fine by me. Fine either way. If it is true, I like things that humanize Jesus more. And bonus points for shattering the insistence of the Catholic hierarchy that the reason there can't be married or female priests is that they're modeling Jesus' own actions. But I also don't need it to be true and I don't see it as an invitation to mock or poke at Christians that find it impossible to accept as even a possibility. Read more

What is the “correct” position for a Catholic? — I respond to a reader comment

Last updated on: July 19, 2013 at 9:34 pm By Phil Fox Rose

What is the "correct" position on subsidiarity, or any other issue, for a Catholic when the USCCB, the Catechism, various encyclicals, popes' comments and the Bible don't all agree? Which has authority? Or is there a "correct" position? I respond to a reader comment. Read more

The Serenity Prayer

Last updated on: May 6, 2019 at 4:02 pm By Phil Fox Rose

"God, grant me the serenity..." Recited by people of faith and seekers alike, the Serenity Prayer is part of our culture. But it can become meaningless through repetition. So I want to share this wonderful spiritual tool with those who don't know it, and encourage those who say it regularly to take a moment and look at it fresh. If you can follow this prayer, you are a long way towards living rightly. Read more

Class Warfare

Last updated on: September 18, 2012 at 10:35 am By Phil Fox Rose

Am I my brother's keeper? Not if he's a lazy bum. That pretty much sums up Mitt Romney's message in the best known clip from a video secretly taped at a fundraiser. You've probably heard some of it by now. Romney ridicules America's poor and says he has no interest in reaching them. This echo of Ayn Rand's "makers and takers" mentality is not Christian charity. Jesus said, "I was hungry and you gave me food" (Matthew 25:35), not, I was hungry and you didn't want to enable me so you cut off my benefits for my own good. Read more

Groundbreaking female animator, and one of my spiritual anchors: Tissa David (1921-2012)

Last updated on: May 2, 2013 at 10:19 pm By Phil Fox Rose

I lost one of my spiritual anchors a few weeks ago when Tissa David died at the age of 91. Most of the world knows her as a breakthrough female animator -- an innovator who brought realistic motion to characters, especially female characters. I will remember her as the embodiment of contemplation. Read more

Jillian Jensen brings bullying center stage on The X Factor

Last updated on: September 17, 2012 at 12:25 pm By Phil Fox Rose

On Wednesday's premiere of season two of The X Factor, we were treated to a stunning performance by Jillian Jensen singing a Jessie J song to Demi Lovato and the other judges. Some of you might think this is just fluff, but I think of all the young girls who struggle with self-esteem issues that might have been helped by seeing Jillian... Read more