Prayer
There is the Islam of the dictators and their religious allies, used to keep people in their place, used to justify their own power, used to shame and threaten those who question their authority. And there is the Islam of the protestors, calling out to God in hopes of liberation. Whose prayers are heard? Which group has a more true vision of God?
When President Obama was giving his speech in Cairo, I was just across the Red Sea in Aqaba, Jordan, and caught a glimpse on a corner store TV, the translation making it hard to hear his words.
Urban biking is not without peril. Many of my parishioners rely almost exclusively on human-powered transportation and do so while competing for road space with motorized vehicles.
Thank God for mothers! Mother's Day is an opportunity to make life special for them. It is a chance to celebrate family. I thank God for my mother, who died some years ago. There is one thing I regret: for too many years I did not appreciate her enough and took her for granted. She was always there for us. I thank God for my wife.
Last week my son and I spent three days in Washington, D.C., as part of the Mobilization to End Poverty. We heard challenging speakers.
I thought Ruth Haley Barton’s article (“Make a Joyful Silence,” February 2009) was awesome.
"Good" Friday was real good this year. We remembered Jesus, and we remembered Jesus disguised in the "least of these" -- those who continue to be tortured, spit on, slapped, insulted, misunderstood