New Year’s Resolution

It is not that I may not try out some new ways of being in the nearly new year, but, regardless, I hope and pray that I come back time and again in the new year to the resolution expressed in this hymn. I do not like all of the new tunes for hymns; I [...]

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A Very Happy Christmas to You

I was reflecting with my house church the other day about why there seems to be a collective longing at Christmas for peace and love and joy. What is it that songs like Silent Night, with its tune and words, are drawing out in us, in Christians and many non-Christians? And aren’t scenes such as [...]

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Perhaps a Bit of a Momma’s Boy…

…but in the best possible sense. I am on vacation at my brother and sister-in-law’s house in San Antonio and found these today. I especially like the one below, because my brother Adrian (the one with the vinyl SAS bag which would be so hip today) has such a big smile on his face. See [...]

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The Blessed Virgin Mary::Theotokos “God-bearer”

Here is an article about Mary by the poet Luci Shaw entiled Yes to Shame and Glory, which is quite good. Here are some excerpts:
Mary will need the exhilaration of these days to balance the pain of the next 33 years and beyond. For God’s trust of her is deep enough not only to fill [...]

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The Last of the Ice and Snow…

…though, hopefully, we will get lots more of the latter; the former is pretty, but, my, it does create some havoc and misery.
I don’t know that it affected these shots very much, but I recently discovered that my camera has been on a “Cool” picture setting for several weeks. Not sure how it got out [...]

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Book Review of The Children of Men and a Poem and Photo–In catapult

This issue of catapult is related to the incarnation and the importance of our bodies.
It includes an article describing some truly postmodern, yet not irreverend, takes on manger scenes.
And a wonderful article on learning the value and uses of touch.
My article is a book review of The Children of Men which is soon to be [...]

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Bolstered Up From Evil

Speaking of a burglar he has just apprehended while he was trying to steal money from him and his friends, Peter Von Holp declares:
“So he is my brother, and yours, too, Carl Schummel, for that matter,” answered Peter, looking into Carl’s eye. “We cannot say what we might have become under other circumstances. We have [...]

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Second to Last Ice and Snow Post, or Maybe the Third

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Some more of Ice and Snow

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“Teen rebellion – a Western export?”

Last spring I wanted to write an article for catapult exploring whether teen rebellion was a uniquely American phenomenon, or if not uniquely American, then at least a phenomena that seems to reach its fullest expression here. I decided ultimately that I did not have the time to really do justice to the topic, though [...]

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