The Arts have plagiarized the verse “Vengeance is Mine” since it first appeared in the Bible. In cinema alone, between 1912 and 2021, it’s been used as a movie title more than a dozen times. Japanese, German, Italian, Hindi and…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) That headline represents a debate between students of various philosophers. Who’s right? Depends. The best teachers will tell you that any of us is stronger living as a verb than…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) To professional comedians, one of the greatest pieces of comic material ever written is considered more than a skit. Abbott & Costello’s “Who’s on First” is deemed a masterpiece of…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Sometimes it seems we don’t know how to think about God. Humanity’s default position is to act like God doesn’t exist. So when times get tough we seek whatever security…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) “Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed.” (Is 56:1, 6-7) Those conditions for salvation are pretty…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) This Sunday’s readings made me think of the Paul Newman movie, “Cool Hand Luke.” It’s the story of an anti-establishment hero sentenced to two years in a hard-labor camp for…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: Do not be afraid, I am with youI have called you each by nameCome and follow MeI will bring you homeI love you and you are mine These lyrics from…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) The characters in the Wizard of OZ represent human characteristics as ancient as the Old Testament. In Sunday’s first reading (1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12), King Solomon seems like the Scarecrow,…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) The readings for Sunday’s Mass offer an infinite bank account we can draw from to finance a bet on God’s existence. Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher, made such a wager…
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Usually when someone from the government says they’re here to help you, instinct says “run for the hills!” Unless, that is, those hills are infertile and need aeration. Then Uncle…