Acts of Hope

  The Collect and Revised Common Lectionary readings for this First Sunday of Advent, Year B, are here . These are two excerpts (beginnin...

The following essay appeared in the March 10, 1989 issue of the Catholic lay-edited magazine Commonweal under the title "When the Spiri...

A couple of fine friends of mine in Brazil are about to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in Portuguese Nossa Senhor...

Deenie died peacefully yesterday, Saturday June 27, in the afternoon, at her home near Boston. The hospice had adjusted Deenie's medicat...

Happy Juneteenth! Did you know that 31 states now celebrate Juneteenth as a state holiday? More on Juneteenth at the other blog , with a lin...

The great historian John Hope Franklin died yesterday at the age of 94. The Washington Post has several pieces about him including an obitu...

Just a reminder of this , since the commemorations are upon us. Even if you can't attend, have a look at the links! A precious piece of...

This isn't really about John Updike, may he rest in peace, but about the descriptions of John Updike on the radio. I found myself yellin...

It's that time of year again, as posts from my neighbor to the north, It's Margaret , attest. Diocesan Convention is this weekend in...

If anyone still lives under the delusion that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. only spoke of holding hands and singing Kumbaya, that per...

I am just back from the book party for my friend Deidre's new book , held at St. Ambrose, Raleigh, a historically African American Episc...

I guess blog break is over, de facto , though I will still be absent-minded and not all there till February, mas or menos . Classes began to...

Dear blogging friends , A joyous Christmas to you! I'm grateful for your presence in my life, for your visits with and without comments...

My former Member of Congress, Barbara Lee, has been elected chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Here is a link to the story . I am stil...

A good book for Thanksgiving. I won't have money to buy it or time to read it till heaven knows when, but I really want to. The New York...

I meant to post this before the weekend. Troy Davis has received another stay of execution. There were rallies around the world last week ...

I voted today. North Carolina is one of the early-voting states. I arrived at the polling place sometime after 2 p.m. and the parking lot w...

You may have to bear with a short commercial first (sometimes it comes on before the comedy segment, sometimes not) but it's worth it. W...