“Must be the Recession”

One thing that I’ve heard from several people when I mention the surge in Dominican vocations (and the surge of many dioceses and orders male and female) is “Oh, it must be the recession.” Truly, I have not met one religious who set aside marital joys, self-determination, and wealth . . . . Continue Reading »

A Gallery of American Dreams

Though only the first act of Denis Johnson’s Angels takes place in transit, the book has the feel of a road novel—specifically, an American road novel. The story is straightforward: Two people, Jamie Mays and Bill Houston, meet aboard a Greyhound. One is in flight from an unfaithful . . . . Continue Reading »

Thank You, Mark Oppenheimer

Two days after the Obergefell decision, New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer suggested that it is now time to rethink the idea of tax-exempt status for religious institutions: “Rather than try to rescue tax-exempt status for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of . . . . Continue Reading »

A Cape of Good Hope

In his recent piece, SOS, my colleague Dominic Bouck, O.P., argued that the Church is much like a ship plying the ocean currents en route to her heavenly destination. I was particularly struck by a lengthy quote from Tertullian describing the apostles in their storm-tossed boat: That little . . . . Continue Reading »