In the early 1960s, writer Rod Serling used his Twilight Zone TV series to tell enlightening parables for his time. They often had a shocking twist at the end. If Serling were alive today, this Sunday’s mass readings might have…
Watching the movie “The Song of Bernadette” the other night made me think of Christmas tree lights—the old annoying series-wired kind. A string of these lights goes dark when one bulb goes bad. But using the glass-half-full perspective, you could…
The running gag throughout A Christmas Story (the movie about a boy and his coveted b-b gun) is how Ralphie keeps leaving little clues for his parents about what he wants for Christmas. He’s afraid his wish would never be…
Would you take the time to stoop and rescue a crumpled, filthy piece of paper from the sidewalk on your journey to an important appointment? You probably would if you recognized Ben Franklin’s face peering through the dirt. That little…
It’s easy to believe that Hollywood detests anything to do with religion, but it’s hard not to notice their tendency to imitate scripture by using parables to tell the truth about humanity. A new movie, “Arrival,” is a good example.…
English Mountaineer George Mallory made history not only for his attempts to climb Mt. Everest, but for his three-word answer to the question of why he kept trying. “Because it’s there.” In Mallory’s view, this mountain’s very existence gave his…
We’ve all had those days where life felt like a big cosmic game show. On those days when the world throws its toughest puzzles at you it can be hard just figuring out the rules or your role in the…
Welcome to the end of the world. How does it feel after these few days into the post-election Armageddon many Chicken Littles expected? Probably the same as the week before Election Day. No matter who wins any elected office, the…
Some of the greatest biblical conflicts were between two groups of people: those who feared God and those who were scared of God. The latter group was scared that if there really was a resurrection then they would be held…
A new documentary about the Beatles reminds us how crazily their fans pursued them. This urge to chase them was almost instinctual, like how some dogs can’t resist chasing cars. The problem for both is, not knowing what to do…