This Veterans’ Day, I feel grateful for a particular veteran of a North Korean POW camp. This soldier endured captivity primarily to ease the minds of a fellow soldier’s family. This story gives me another way of understanding what it means “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn. 15:13, NRSVCE) The Korean War Like many Americans, I know little about the Korean War. It is sometimes called the “forgotten war” because World War II and Vietnam receive so... Read more
For the number of choices Americans have for food, clothes, cleaning products, worship, social media, etc., one would think we could move beyond either/or thinking. Either/Or Questions I Hear These Days Most recently, the question of whether one supports Israel or the Palestinians has been asked. Choosing one over the other, unless one is Israeli or Palestinian, is difficult. If someone asked me that question, I would say that I do not support terrorist attacks or attacks on civilians, so... Read more
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has formed my worldview and therefore guides me when voting. Themes of Catholic Social Teaching The Catholic Church leadership has written documents on social teaching since the Industrial Revolution. Because the majority of Catholics will not read the many writings, the bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) identified seven themes that capture the essential elements of CST. 1. The life and dignity of the human person are at the heart of the... Read more
The tragic Maine massacre reminds Americans of two poorly addressed issues in the United States: guns and mental health. Guns If the U.S. properly regulated guns, Robert Card could not have quickly shot so many people. Mass shootings occur because of firearms that release many bullets quickly. If guns like this were not easily available, we would not lose loved ones, friends, and neighbors so often. Regulating guns is important. Many Americans needlessly die every year, children included, because of... Read more
Not many trick-or-treaters transform their costume from witch to saint. A Favorite Halloween Memory My favorite Halloween memory is when my daughter was a witch. We had purchased a witch’s hat, she had a broom, and I think we put a green substance on her face. She already had a black dress. We took her photo beforehand. She went out with a friend and her parents and brought home a load of candy. A Transformation The next morning, she donned... Read more
It is difficult to make general statements about most subjects, but I think it is easy to say that war is a waste. It is not that I cannot understand why some wars begin or that certain groups feel that they need to fight back. No matter the reason behind the conflict, I think that we could conclude that war wastes human lives, sucks up financial resources, and wastes buildings and infrastructure built over centuries in some cases. War Wastes... Read more
I am not sure what led my daughter to begin donating blood. My husband had donated blood and platelets through apheresis for many years. She also did apheresis once even though they had inserted one of the tubes into her arm incorrectly. They Found a Stem Cell Match! A year or two ago, she gave a blood sample to be matched with patients in need of stem cells or bone marrow. Sometime in the late summer, she received a call... Read more
Yesterday, my former classmate lost her daughter. Because of her daughter’s illness, my classmates’ actions will give life to many others with the same and similar diseases. High School Context I attended an all-girls convent school in Washington, DC for high school. Siobhan (not her real name) immediately stood out. She knew many people. Her sisters had gone to the same school (and possibly her mother too) so she had the more comfortable uniform skirt that had been passed down... Read more
After the recent violence, some people support the Palestinians only or Israelis only. Those who are from the region understand the tension between these two groups, so know better than me. Rarely is there a long-standing conflict in which one side is blameless and the other side is completely at fault. This area of the world has a long history, going back to early civilizations, and Palestine as a region has a complex history even in the 20th and 21st... Read more
When we hear that current or former athletes have suffered a significant loss or come down with terminal disease, most people would agree that praying for the players and their families is appropriate. Does God heed our prayers for athletes and their success in games? Of course, I think that God prefers that players avoid injury and cares for them as individuals, but what about their success or failure? Praying for Teams or Athletes in Competition As I was leaving... Read more
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