Bravest Thing (He Ever Did)

  There is a piece of very exciting news I'm finally able to share with you. I'm heading to Italy! Yes, me! I haven't been out of Canada since August, 2003. Then it was Buffalo, NY. And now...Rome!  Briefly, I've been invited to join the Rome Pilgrimage of Hope taking place in July. I have been asked to give one talk per day on the topic of modern saints embracing the modern world. There will be other speakers as well, including the Japanese liturgical sensation, Tayo Marshasuki, and Scriptural scholar Sue Althemen.  Some of the stops on the pilgrimage will include praying at the tombs of modern saints like SAINT Paul VI and SAINT John XXIII. Sunday Mass will be at the Jesuit parish in Rome, the Chiesa del Gesu. We will also get a chance to meet Pope Francis! Though I'm told that if he passes before we get there then we will go to his tomb instead (assuming he doesn't want his body shipped back to Argentina). Either way, we will get to see him. The timing for th...

“You’re going to use the same old Christmas letter template again, aren’t you?” These are dangerous words when they come from your wife. “What’s wrong with my Christmas letters?” I asked. I intended the sharpness of my voice to be felt.  “Oh, nothing.” “Well, do you want to write the dumb letter this year?” “No! Look, it’s just…it’s fine. We don’t need to talk about it.” Being married for fourteen years, I know two things: 1) It’s not fine. 2) I was about to change my Christmas letter style. It’s not my fault Becca wants a different letter. It’s the fault of our friends. You see, each year, I imagine because we’re so popular, we receive a flurry of letters from families far and wide. The problem is these letters are entertaining. Too entertaining. These people out-write me—ME, the author of FIVE BOOKS, darn it!—as though I’m unworthy to unlatch the strap of their laptop case. They make me look bad; a real amateur hour. These friends. “Friends.”  Jerks. I joke. Sort of. Either ...