In one of the Seinfeld episodes, Jerry attempts to return a sports coat to a clothier but the salesperson cannot take it back because when asked why he wants to return the jacket Jerry says “spite.”  Spite is not on the list of valid reasons for which a customer can return clothing.  His spite was […]

A year or so ago, one of my siblings asked me, “Are you trying to get fired?”  At that time—after decades of church leaders’ mismanagement and cover-up of crimes and sins coupled with the sickening headlines about cardinals’ and bishops’ sexual misconduct and the Pennsylvania grand jury report—some of our ecclesial decision-makers still had their […]

The world of optometry helps to identify defects in our sight and offers corrective measures that allow us to see more clearly.  In the world of religion and spirituality, we also have specialists who can help us gain better insight.  The year that awaits us provides a good metaphor for such vision.  For those that […]

Though some writers distinguish joy from happiness—one being an emotion that is often fleeting while the other is a way of living that we willfully embrace—they are both wonderful and we often touch them in meaningful ways at Christmastime and year’s end. There is a downward trend in happiness according to the World Happiness Report […]

At its core, Borromeo Academy has something crucial in common with Advent.  Both are about being urgent and being patient at the same time.  Mary, the young virgin of Nazareth, is the primary biblical character of the Advent Season and primary example for us in our quest to bring Christ into our world today.  She, […]

This Friday, December 13, Borromeo Academy will host our third annual Prayer Luncheon.  Our goals are three: one is to raise awareness of Catholic, classical, liberal arts model education; the second is to raise funds for student-scholars from low-income families living in poverty; and the third is to pray for children and the faith of […]

Many people get creeped-out by the ubiquitous little Elf on the Shelf who, in colorful leotards and a facial smirk, keeps watch over children around the world in their homes from Thanksgiving until Christmas, scoping out naughty and nice behaviors to report to Santa Claus.  The arctic minion even appears in classrooms to help teachers […]

As families across the nation gather for the annual Thanksgiving feast, Kacey Musgraves song, Family Is Family, will resonate on some level—even if only a surface level.  “They’re there for your first year and they’ll slip you your first beer…they own too much wicker and drink too much liquor…they may smoke like chimneys but’ll give […]

Pope Francis sometimes reminds us that Jesus’ religion was one of accompaniment.  Though Jewish, He didn’t view Judaism as a set of rules, rubrics, customs, or costumes, nor merely the observance of dogma and doctrine.  Rather, He viewed religion as a way of life that helps people find a path from their current messy situation […]

Like Jesus did, many spiritualists compare the Holy Spirit to the wind—the breath of God.  Both are invisible yet they can be felt, even heard; they stir the atmosphere in sometimes unpredictable and powerful ways.  In the early 1960’s, when Peter, Paul, and Mary crooned the famous refrain, “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in […]