When I worked in the Philippines we Franciscans used to refer to those who were nearing death as being “in the pre-departure area.” Perhaps it was our way of denying death or preparing ourselves to accept the fact that one of our Franciscan brothers was nearing it. If I recall, it was a retired priest...
A song from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof ” comes to mind every Mother’s Day. Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman, is growing insecure. So he asks his wife Golde, “Do you love me?” At first she is silent and seems preoccupied with her work. Then she suggests he must be worried about their daughters who...
In what I can only imagine was a gross misunderstanding of the etymology of the term “slap happy,” a Baptist preacher in North Carolina is advising parents to slap the gay right out of their children. He seems to define “gay” as playing dress-up, suffering from wrist palsy, or...
Meet my newest brother! We look so much alike, don’t we?
Father Vinay, Mom, Dad & Sammy
Father Vinayak Jadav, from Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India, came to Cincinnati first in 2006 when he worked as an intern here at Franciscan Media. My mom (my predecessor in my current role as editorial assistant) took...
Spring is finally making its appearance in New England—it’s lovely to see the trees budding a little more each day, the grass becoming greener, and early spring flowers blossoming after a long, gray winter. And Mother’s Day is right around the corner! Both my mother and my mother-in-law are no...
The title of this blog is also the title of a children’s edition of a book, distributed by Franciscan Media, I wrote recently dealing with the question of whether we will see our pets again in the next life. In my experience, children are more ready than most adults to accept the hints and clues we find...
