Good people try to avoid prison at all costs. Better people—Christian disciples—go to prison, because Jesus tells us to visit prisoners as one of the six behaviors by which we will be judged at the end of time......…   

The gospels from Mass read like Jesus' vacation chronicles: Last Sunday he went to the mountains, and this week he is at the seashore......…

We annually celebrate Columbus Day in October. Perhaps this year a summer commemoration would be more suitable. Today marks the 525th anniversary of Christopher Columbus sailing to the New World with the now-famous ships, Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria...…   

With President Trump discussing the power of his ability to pardon, concerns are abounding about the extent and nature of this executive privilege. Lawyers and judges will settle these matters and answer necessary questions in time..…   

Forty-eight years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. This epic moment in space travel and research catapulted the profession and related industry of aeronautical engineering, a true boon for education and the economy.…   

Tomorrow evening, the Fr. Louis Brisson Oblate Community at Father Judge High School will be gathering with Oblate and lay friends and colleagues to celebrate over 60 years in residence at the school, and to anticipate their upcoming move from the current faculty house.…   

Outside the Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania, few will know of the story of R. Seth Williams, the two-term Philadelphia district attorney whose political career once held promise beyond measure. After his trial that was aborted after his surprise plea of guilt for, among other things, accepting bribes, he now sits…

The New York Times recently reported on the trend among some elite colleges to host courses and seminars on failure. As these schools tend to welcome the nation’s best and brightest graduating high school seniors, many of these students have never really failed at anything: They are at the top of…

During the next couple of months, many of us may find ourselves piling into our proverbial station wagon, or other vehicle of our choice, and undertaking a kind of journey that is in many ways iconic of the American summertime: a road trip. The purposes and destinations of these journeys are manifold, … 

Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Loving v. Virginia case that redressed the violation of rights of Mildred and Richard Loving who were imprisoned for marrying each other. They were arrested for violating the state’s anti-miscegenation law that prohibited interracial marriage, … 

As of this writing, former FBI director James Comey is scheduled to testify today before Congress about his conversations with President Trump. Both political friends and foes of the president are concerned about the nature of his testimony, hoping for cause to either exonerate our leader from, or indict him for, wrongdoing. …

This past Monday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late President John F. Kennedy, our nation‘s first and only Catholic president. The election of a Catholic president was a milestone for the church, as many wondered if we had finally arrived at the point where we could influence the nation, … 

At this time of year, school gyms, concert halls, and ballrooms across the country are abuzz with festivities leading up to a momentous event in many young lives: high school graduation. While attempting to keep pen on paper in the final few days of exams, adolescent minds are undoubtedly drifting away from… 

In his new book, The Francis Factor and the People of God, Marist priest Fr. Gerald Arbuckle advances an evocative theme: Communities and cultures experience wholesale trauma that goes unhealed. Events like September 11, the assassination of President Kennedy, the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and… 

With all the hype over President Trump’s first 100 days that fell within this Easter season, perhaps a reflection on the first 100 years of the church is in order. The experience of the early church is important for us, for it provides a norm for how we are to live and grow both as disciples and a church…  

Tonight at a banquet hall near center city Philadelphia, Father Judge High School will induct the newest members into its Hall of Fame. Many schools have such ceremonies to honor famous and successful alumni for their contributions to their profession, the church, society, or the school itself. When Bro. Jim…  

In their book Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America’s Largest Churches, authors Scott Thumma and Dave Travis discuss the phenomena of Protestant churches whose congregations number more than 2,000 people who attend weekly. Some host more than 5,000 weekly. These communities are…  

Spring is known as the season of the emergence of new life from the dreariness of winter. New shoots bravely rise above the soil to face the sky above. Young birds courageously crack open their shells, crying out to their mother for the first time. Very often, this breaking forth of vitality happens invisibly; one needs to…   

Today, we begin the Holy Triduum, the high holy days of the Christian tradition. The movement from betrayal, fear, and anxiety to suffering, humiliation, and death, to ultimately joy, hope, and new life is marked on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter. Intense experiences to consider during an essentially long weekend. Or, perhaps these are the deep moments of… 

A long time ago athletes would congratulate each other with a handshake. Later, high fives became the norm; both hands if there were cause for real celebration. Now, it is common to fistbump, where two people touch the fingers’ long side of each other’s clenched fist. As the prophet Isaiah exhorted violent weapons of swords to be turned into plowshares and the…