Perform a little thought experiment with me, if you would. Think back over the past five months, from the New Year until the present, and ask yourself how many days you would characterize as exciting, extraordinary, or life-altering. Having trouble? As hard I could, I could count no more than five days that come anywhere close to meeting the above criteria. Five days out of about 150—that’s just... 

I love working with youths. They tend to pose difficult questions. At a recent weekend retreat, my favorite feature was something called “Fire on Father.” It was my first time at this particular camp, so I was somewhat apprehensive about the title. Far from being hit with any projectiles, however, I walked into a verbal barrage. The kids were invited to write questions on note cards and... 

When we look around the world we live in, we are often overwhelmed by its complexity and its activity. The world seems never to take a break: businesses, stores and restaurants are open seven days a week, school activities take place at all times, entertainment can be accessed at any hour via the internet and wireless streaming devices and we are often slavishly controlled by all manner of communications:... 

Back to square one? The Egyptian revolution of 25th of January 2011 completes its first year with a host of events and decisions that are rewriting the history of this 7000 year old country. Realistically, Egyptians are meeting this first anniversary with an unequivocal sense of frustration that will turn the 25th of January 2012 into a “second wave” of the revolution rather than a celebratory... 

We, with the whole of creation, are fallen. Along with the writers of the Old Testament, we can take that for granted. Scandal, corruption, violence, betrayal – that whole list – should not surprise us – not in ourselves, in others or in our surroundings. Our surprise and joy are found as we discover the Gospel faith that God meets us where we are, builds bridges over the walls we have constructed... 

Recently I was late getting a manuscript to an editor. My excuse? By far the most popular one in America: I had “no time.” Let’s examine that excuse. Why do we all seem to have no time for anything, much less for prayer? I am constantly feeling guilty about this, and I suspect most of you are too. I think the single biggest obstacle to our relationship with God (after sin, of course)... 

Several days ago, my wife and I were having a “disagreement” on the subject of Christmas trees. I won’t bore you with the details, except to say that after several minutes of bickering, we came to realize that the source of our enmity lay in our differing understandings of what the phrase “Christmas tree” actually meant. By this I do not mean that we were fighting about the dictionary definition... 

Happy “X”mas Minas MonirThis is my second Christmas outside the Middle East. Last year I spent it in Boston where one of the largest world shopping malls, the Prudential Centre, was fully occupied by thousands of people who were striving to collect the most possible amount of goods they can afford to buy. I remember the scenes of the ladies who were carrying monstrous number of bags in their hands... 

The House of Tolerance Dr. Andrei Desnitsky“Europe needs to become our common brothel (lit. “house of tolerance”).” Thus was a statement of one of the leaders of the European Union translated into Russian. Of course, the original spoke of tolerance. One may, however, see something greater in this slip than simply a translator’s gaffe. It goes without saying that true tolerance of... 

In the past two months, we as Americans have experienced the strange and curious season of preparation known as the “holiday rush”. This great American tradition, which now includes the mid-feasts of Black Friday and Cyber Monday features, among many other curiosities, billboards, TV, and computer ads, with words like “joy”, “peace”, and “love” intertwined with words like “sale”,...