St. Ignatius of Loyola, a deeply revered master of the spiritual life, always counseled people to use their imaginations when they prayed. Ignatius himself loved to imagine himself present at the Last Supper or at the Sermon on the Mount as a way of bringing these scriptural stories to life. Continue »

We humans are an interesting breed. Blessed as we are with a natural curiosity, we have plumbed the depths of the earth and sent satellites millions of miles into space. We have explored the tiniest of atoms and the most majestic of moun­tains. But for all our delving into the physical world, we are still strangely uninterested in the spiritual world. Continue »

If the story of Jacob and Esau were to play out today, it would probably be splashed across the front page of every tabloid newspaper in the country. “Twin dresses as animal to swindle his brother.” “Woman wrangles money from husband.” “Man flees brother’s homicidal rage.” Continue »

"Angels & Demons", a 2009 Hollywood movie starring Tom Hanks, had very little to do with actual angels and demons. It was a tale of Vatican intrigue, assassi­nations, and a fictional cult-like group called the Illuminati. The movie did not do very well in theaters, and it’s no won­der. Preposterous story lines generally don’t make good films. Continue »

The ruined church was a fitting backdrop for the impromptu service held at prisoner of war Camp No. 5, in Pyoktong, North Korea, on Easter morning. 1951. Continue »

“So is he your only one?” I’d nod and wait for the dreaded question. Then it would come: “Are you and your husband going to have any more kids?” Though I’d come to expect it, my heart still skipped a beat. I tried to appear composed and calm as I answered, “Oh, we hope to someday.” Continue »

Many of us hunger for a kind of prayer that goes deeper than words or thoughts about God. We sense that we have come to the point where we need to stop talking about divine love and experience it. We long for a silent union with God that is often called “contemplation,” and we want to know how to get to this place in our spiritual lives. Continue »