In the film Field of Dreams, the whisper “Ease his pain” is initially a mystery. Ray Kinsella assumes it refers to the unfulfilled dreams of a legendary ballplayer. However, he eventually realizes it refers to his own father—a man he had grown distant from, a man who had died without reconciliation. The “pain” wasn’t physical;…
Young For Longer
Philip Geluck once observed that “being old is just being young for longer than others.” It is a charmingly subversive thought, one that flips the script on the standard narrative of decline. Instead of seeing age as the accumulation of years, Geluck invites us to see it as the successful persistence of youth. My wife,…
Systematic Wonder: Reimagining the Lenten Lens
In the shadow of a world so often defined by its fractures—marked by the “bombs, missiles, and drones” of our daily headlines—Maria Popova reminds us of the enduring beauty of the human spirit. She points us toward the poet-naturalist Diane Ackerman, who once posed a question that is as much a scientific paradox as it…
A Plea for Patience and Peace
I will get back to prayer, service, and sacrifice, I promise. But please put up with me for a weekend at least. Does what is going on in the Middle East seem like a video game? Drones attacking buildings, missiles and rockets being fired, and targeting individuals and “bad guys.” I wonder how we will…