When a memorial service took place last year for Bob Abernethy, the beloved anchor of the PBS-TV news show I worked for, the program’s executive producer recalled how in 20 years of working with Bob, no angry words ever passed between them. That kind of cooperation seems so distant and…

We live much of our lives crossing the intersection of joy and sorrow. This became even more apparent to me in recent days. On Monday, I received word that my first cousin Peter Valente had died after fighting heart disease and having one organ after another shut down. On Thursday…

Several times this past summer, I’ve accompanied a friend on Sundays to her Mennonite Church. The Mennonites have a strong tradition of social action and the practice of non-violence. Though I miss the ritual of the Catholic Mass, I’ve appreciated Pastor Kevin Chupp’s compelling sermons. Lately he has been plumbing…

Several years ago, I spent Christmas at Mount St. Scholastica, a women’s Benedictine monastery in Atchison, Kansas. The retired abbot from the men’s monastery down the road spent Christmas Eve there too because a severe snowstorm was predicted and the sisters didn’t want Father Owen to risk driving in steep…

One of my not-so-guilty pleasures on Sunday evenings is watching PBS-TV’s Masterpiece Mystery. By far, my favorite show in the series has been Endeavor, the story of a brilliant, Latin-and-literature-quoting, crossword puzzle-loving young detective in Oxford, England named Morse. Morse, however, never uses his given name of Endeavor. …

The word kindness keeps following me like the unshakable scent of a lilac bush in summer. It is perhaps no coincidence since I am writng this on Father’s Day, thinking of my late father, Charlie, one of the kindest persons I’ve ever known. Bank tellers, supermarket cashiers and auto shop…

Two events this past week set me reflecting on what really matters. The first was an interesting post on Facebook in which a man paid homage to his 101-year-old mother-in-law who recently had died. He recalled asking her once what she had learned about happiness. She said don’t waste time…

This first Sunday in June is usually celebrated in the liturgical calendar as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. I would often groan when this particular Sunday rolled around because I knew it meant listening to yet another well-meaning homilist fumble through trying to explain a concept that defies…

It’s fitting for a variety of reasons that I write this column on Pentecost Sunday. This past week, I finished guiding a spiritual retreat/pilgrimage in Italy. I and the 16 other Americans who joined me were able to experience the joy of small town life (what I call the“real” Italy)…