Month: March 2017
Shake On It: A Harry Potter Story
“No.” “Harry, my boy…” “No, Headmaster.” The young man’s voice was firm. Albus Dumbledore sighed. “Harry, you need…” “Don’t you dare, don’t you dare tell me what I need,” Harry suddenly hissed, his voice soft…
Song of Exiles: A Reflection on the New York City Draft Riots of 1863
Hear, O Africa, cradle of humanity’s first dreaming, the cry of your oppressed children rises high above the ocean’s crest. Hear the whip crack, splitting the skin baked brown in your fire-stoked…
Happiness and Resolution: Lent as a Reset Button
Have you had anyone wish you a “Happy Lent?” It seems odd, because Lent is not commonly viewed as a happy time. It is that liturgical season during which we Catholics fast, abstain…
Pity for a Creature Dark as Darkness: Bilbo’s Encounter with Gollum in “The Hobbit”
The meeting of Bilbo, the dreadfully and fearfully lost hobbit, and Gollum, a creature “as dark as darkness” (Hobbit 88), their riddle-game and what happens after Gollum loses are among the most iconic scenes of…
Kingdom Come: Five Spiritual Exercises for Lent
Lent is the Christian season of penitence, traditionally practiced through the triple disciplines of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. It marks the period when Christ spent 40 days in the desert to prepare for his earthly…