The Legacy of Pope Francis

Some of you may remember that one of my first Blog Posts was made on January 21, 2025. The title was Never Forget, Never Again, and I wrote it in observance of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2025, the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In his remarks on the day of … Read more

A Message for Easter: We Are Back On!

Easter scene with cross. Jesus Christ. Watercolor vector illustration

There is a resounding line from the Palm Sunday account of Jesus’ entry into all the commotion and conflict in Jerusalem that never gets silenced. As Luke presents it in chapter nineteen, the crowds, filled with factions, are going crazy. One of my favorite Palm Sunday hymns is called The Palms, composed by Jean-Baptista Faure, … Read more

The Holy Week Narrative

Lois was more of a fan of the television series Yellowstone than I, (she wants a “Don’t Get Beth Dutton-ed” coffee mug), but together, we are keen on the prequels, “1883” and “1923,” the last episode of which dropped on April 6, 2025.  We loved the character of Elsa in “1883” and were brokenhearted to … Read more

“A Tradition Unlike Any Other” (Jim Nantz)

It is the week of the ‘Masters’ at Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia. professional golf’s most prestigious tournament. The Golf Channel broadcasts daily a show called “Live from the Masters,” which includes interviews, analyses, and statistically projected outcomes. Lois and I were lucky enough to have landed tickets twice, once for Wednesday’s “Family … Read more

It is our Time; It is our Moment!

march-madness-brucejjohnson

March Madness is upon us. The NCAA Division One men’s and women’s basketball championships await the frenzy of their respective Final Fours this weekend. All the broken brackets and bad bets hang in the balance and the excitement and unpredictability of the tournament are charged with the competitive spirit of a nation obsessed with the … Read more

Elevating Humanity Through Laughter and Tears

laugh and cry

Our son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Brianna, are truly kind and generous at sending us videos of Cole and allowing for almost daily periods of facetime with him. If I had a nickel for every time Lois replays a video and remarks, “He makes me laugh,” I would be a rich man, During advent, we … Read more

Be Angry But Do Not Sin

I was not entirely satisfied with how I ended my Ash Wednesday Lenten blog post. You may recall, I closed with a quote from the Reverend William Sloane Coffin: When you see uncaring people in high places, everybody should be mad as hell. If you lessen your anger at the structures of power, he said, … Read more

The Satanic Seduction of Power

Man praying in the grassy field

Today is March 5, 2025, Ash Wednesday, a holy day that marks the beginning of Lent for most Christians. Ashes symbolize repentance, humility, death and sacrifice, core themes for the forty-day and forty-night Lenten period of preparation for Easter. Forty days is no brief period, especially when they are the days spent by Jesus in … Read more

D. E. I. Is the Gospel

feb29-leapyear

Last year I celebrated my nineteenth ‘real’ birthday on February twenty-ninth. Yes, I am a leap year baby. In fact, I am a leap year twin, and I have in my office at home in Connecticut a New Haven Register account and a photo of that happy event. My mother often repeated the story about … Read more

Look in the Mirror

look in the mirror

Lois and I enjoy watching many of the series on television. They stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney +. Our favorites include a few from PBS, such as Downton Abbey, Poldark, Bridgerton, All Creatures Great and Small; another one is the eighty-nine episodes of Everwood on Amazon Prime, or more recently, the six … Read more