Teleology is a philosophical school of thought that evaluates everything by its purpose or goal. It looks at events and conditions by the purpose they
When we brought our newborn daughter home from the hospital, the first few days seemed like a taste of Heaven. This little mite soaked into
I heard the other day that Johnny, a friend from my high school days, died 6 months ago. We haven’t lived in the same town
My last column, “Good Intentions Are Not Enough,” warned against substituting intentions for the examination of results. It warned, too, of depending on our efforts
“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” is an aphorism that has become a kind of proverb. The Wikipedia entry on this statement
Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz is credited with the phrase “Happiness is a warm puppy.” It was, perhaps, a foretaste of the internet meme. The phrase
“What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer.” This quote is the first line of Francis Bacon’s essay, Of Truth.
The Cardinal Virtues – justice, temperance, prudence, and fortitude – are sometimes known as the pagan virtues. This is because before Christianity, the Greek and
“What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him?” – Psalms 8:5 Every week I
There is a difference between price and cost. A priceless thing may be very costly even with no money involved – perhaps especially when no
We are now firmly ensconced in “Ordinary Time.” But even ordinary time is not that ordinary. Ordinary Time includes the days between the end of
Perhaps the oldest greeting/response of the Church comes from the wondrous news of Easter. The greeting, in Greek, is Christós anésti (Χριστὸςἀνέστη) meaning ‘Christ is
As I write this, the previous week’s Sunday Gospel was Luke 9:28-36. To refresh your memory, it is the story of the transfiguration. Peter, John,
I first heard the phrase “slower than Christmas” when we moved back to Texas. I was 9- years-old at the time. We had lived in
A Bible verse is appropriate for our times right now. Psalm 146:3 says, “Put no trust in princes, in children of Adam powerless to save.”
While browsing through history books in the library I stumbled across one with what struck me as having an odd picture on the cover. It
“I’ll pray for you.” People say this often. As often as not, they say it with an unspoken general presumption that they will do their
More than anywhere else, I grew up in Permian Basin oil fields of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. At the northeastern edge of the
Piet (pronounced Peet) Hein was a Danish mathematician, inventor, and poet (among other things). He is perhaps most famous, however, for his “Grooks.” Piet Hein
I am not a big fan of contemporary “worship” music as a whole, but there are some pieces that appeal to me greatly. One of
I grew up in the desert Southwest, where colorful speech abounds. For instance, ever heard of a haboob? One memorable phrase I particularly like would
Knowledge, they say, lets you understand that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable. Wisdom is not putting that tomato in a fruit salad.
