I’ve been learning more about Judaism from living with Farrah and Monica, but feel that I haven’t been able to express my Catholic identity and share that side with them. While Farrah was saying morning prayers yesterday for Rosh Hashanah, I realized I should pray more. Often, it’s the hard times that you ask God [...]

I’ve been learning more about Judaism from living with Farrah and Monica, but feel that I haven’t been able to express my Catholic identity and share that side with them. While Farrah was saying morning prayers yesterday for Rosh Hashanah, I realized I should pray more. Often, it’s the hard times that you ask God [...]

In this video, Giselle interviews Brother William Becerra, of Casa del Migrante in Tijuana, a shelter for deported immigrants.  Br. William shares his thoughts and experiences about the immigration issue from the other side of the border. In video one, Giselle discusses the incident that forced her to look at the immigration issue. In video two, Giselle [...]

Think of the coworker that annoys you most and analyze what it is about them that irritates you. What does that tell you about yourself?

What we find in the New Testament is a reference to a woman named Phoebe as “minister of the church at Cenchreae” (Romans 16:1) The Greek word used here for minister is diakonos which means servants, attendants, or ministers. St. Paul used the word to refer to himself on occasion as he did in [...]

We often talk about the need positive role models in the media today, but we rarely talk about the need for priests as role models; they are largely absent from today’s modern media landscape. And when they do happen to be included in a television show or a movie, they are frequently presented as [...]

I recently came across a fascinating piece on NPR from a few months back in which Alix Speigel interviewed Larry Nucci, a research psychologist at the Institute of Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley about what rules children believe are good, and what rules they think are stupid. Rules can be broken down into [...]

When problems arise today, think outside the box for new solutions.

Who is the Dalai Lama and should I listen to his teachings if I am Catholic? The Dalai Lama is the temporal and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a successive line of teachers have held this title since 1391, each believed to be the reincarnation of the previous Dalai [...]

After I got over the bacon, light switch, Passover thing, I started to really get into the whole moving in together thing.  I thought about cookware, bedroom setup, odds and ends we’d have to buy.  In addition I realized I forgot a small detail. “Hey Annie, do you know what a mezuzah is?” I asked over [...]

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The latest story about the massacre of immigrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico by the drug cartels has me thinking about the issue of recreational drug use again. Of course it is not a good idea to do anything illegal but I think there is a distinct difference between drug addicts and people who just use drugs [...]

Today do one nice thing for someone you do not know.

Actually, not all of them do. The practice has its origins in the dictates of modesty. From time immemorial, an uncovered head was considered immodest. Married Jewish women covered their heads, usually with a scarf or veil, so as not to draw attention to themselves. In relatively recent times, the wearing [...]

The other day I was reading in Acts 8 about Philip the Evangelist, my namesake, along with some study bible commentary on his history. Even though I was named after him, I have never read these passages before. I finally did because recently I began using a plan to read through the entire Bible in [...]

OK, I know I’m a little obsessed with self-control research (see my recent posts on Dogging Self-Control and Commitment Strategies 101) but PsyBlog recently posted a fascinating tidbit: Positive affirmations can replenish your self-control. In a study published last year in the Journal of Personal Social Psychology, participants were asked to write a short essay about [...]

Today, say a prayer for someone who has wronged you.

Liberation Theology is a school of theological thought that is centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of liberation from poverty or unjust social situations, most especially in Central American Culture. It arose as a moral reaction to the poverty cause by social inequalities in that region. Gustavo Gutierrez is the [...]

Today, remember all the times you wanted patience from others, and then make sure you ask that same patience of yourself.

The Council of Ephesus, which was held in 431, was crucial in affirming the truth of the title “Mother of God.” People had been calling Mary that for quite some time, but it was not dogmatically defined until the Council. Here’s how it happened: At the Council, the bishops denounced the Nestorian heresy, a heresy [...]