There is nothing like the birth of a child to make one appreciate Christmas. Four times, I have experienced such Christmases. Now I am experiencing my fifth. It was the birth of my first grandchild. He was named after my father, Theodore, who died 25 years ago.
I was bemoaning the state of a country divided almost down the middle. The election that so many people thought was for the soul of the country or for its future instead revealed that we are divided almost 50-50. The priest I was talking with agreed. And then he said, "I think it's a great opportunity."
It is no surprise that Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and organizations have been profoundly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. With unemployment impacting so many Catholic families, as well as the canceling of Masses and their offertory collections, many Catholic institutions and the communities they serve are in precarious shape.
I’d be willing to bet that not many of us have watched a man die. Those of us who don’t go to war or work in intensive care units are not often witnesses to the last breath of another human being. We don’t see a lifeless body rolled over onto a stretcher, head dangling limply.
I’ve been a bit puzzled about all the debate and outrage over wearing masks. I know some of it is weirdly ideological, but some of it seems to be a misunderstanding of why we have been asked to wear masks in the first place.
It is always impressive to hear the stories of people who rush toward danger when others are fleeing. Remember Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus? He lost his life when without hesitation he rushed into the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, to stop a mass shooter.
I’d love to be writing about something other than the coronavirus crisis, but it is hard to think of any other event that has so transfixed our attention. It is as if the entire world -- well, maybe not Florida -- has been forced to take a 30-day retreat to contemplate what really matters.
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste,” said former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. His adage came to mind as I surveyed the human and economic wreckage strewn in the wake of the coronavirus.
