Category Archives: Articles

Prophecy in Modern America

Jim Wallis does not look like much of a prophet. In appearance, he does not remind anyone of Jeremiah, Amos, or John the Baptist. No beard, no special clothing and no fire in the eyes mark his looks. To all appearances, he is an ordinary middle-aged fellow of medium height, genial and approachable.

But, still, this man feels himself to be on a serious spiritual mission. Like the prophets of biblical times, he has a vision of things as God wants them to be. Following their model, he has dedicated himself to changing people’s hearts so that all of God’s children may share in the common wealth of American society.

Continue reading →

The Faces of War

Among the images produced by the war in Yugoslavia, one of  the starkest is that of an old woman lying back in a wheelbarrow and pushed by male family members or friends toward the border of Albania . Though that woman is one among hundreds of thousands of refugees, she represents an entire people,  reduced to misery by the brutal forces that have swept over them.

Continue reading →

Things Falling Into Place

At age 19, Chris White chose to become a Baha’i. In doing so, he followed the religious faith of his mother who has belonged to that tradition all of her life. Now, some ten years later, Chris feels that he made the right choice because “things fell into place for me.”

Now ten years later, Chris is a candidate for a Ph.D. at Harvard in the field of religion. He also serves as a tutor to some of the sixty undergraduates choosing to major in this field.

Continue reading →

MindWalks

Health advisors are unanimous: for the benefit of our physical selves,  we elders ought to exercise more than we do. One author, Douglas Powell,  is so convinced of its value that he risks telling the younger members of his extended family what to do. “If I could make only one suggestion to my children and grandchildren about optimal aging,” he writes,  “it would be this: Get regular exercise.”

Continue reading →

Two Women

Two women, both middle-aged spiritual seekers, trying to find a deeper reality and to give it expression to a wide audience, appeared together last week as part of a book fair. Their presentations offered much to think about and pray over.

Joan Anderson told of leaving her husband and her home to live by herself for a time on Cape Cod. She did not want a divorce, nor did she cease caring about her husband; she simply felt the need of a radical change.

So, as she describes it in her new book, A Year By the Sea, Joan Anderson did things that established contact with the world in novel ways. She took a job in a fish market; she dug clams on the beach; she took long walks along the ocean’s edge; she went swimming with the seals.

Continue reading →

From There to Here

Until my college years, I literally did not know anything about homosexuality, even its very existence. It simply did not occur to me that people of the same gender would gravitate toward one another sexually. That’s how sheltered my suburban upbringing was in a family where anything sexual received precious little mention.

After college when I joined the Jesuits, I did become aware of the attraction some men feel for one another. In fact, I felt it myself for at least one fellow novice, a fact that caused me much confusion. But, my spiritual counselors explained, that often happens in living situations restricted to a single gender such as in a military setting (as it was then) or, in  this instance, in a spiritual boot camp.

Continue reading →

Spirituality and the Creative Arts

The large stage of Sanders Theater, filled to its last square foot with young people as singers and players, provided the setting last week for a stirring musical performance. Verdi’s Requiem resounded through the hall with all the vigor, and the subtlety, of the great composer’s creative art. Members of the audience, clearly held in rapt attention during the performance, at the end rose to their feet and applauded mightily the conductor and all who had brought us such an experience.

Continue reading →