The Plank In Your Own Eye

We make an Olympic sport of pointing out other people’s mistakes. An Olympic athlete stands on the podium, gold medal around her neck, and fails to put her hand on her heart for the national anthem. We who could never do what she has done are offended. A presidential candidate’s wife poses topless twenty years […]

Hero #4: Pope Francis

Most folks don’t normally think of the Pope as a hero. To Catholics, he’s a leader, spiritual guide, giver of laws. To non-Catholics, he’s a role model, maybe. In some unfortunate cases, he’s a misguided–or even malicious–purveyor of hatred and intolerance. To many, he’s irrelevant, just an old guy in a funny hat. But a […]

Farewell, President Mandela

Former South Africa leader Nelson Mandela. How many of us could forgive our enemies, time and time again? How many of us could spend thirty years in prison and emerge ready to make peace? How many of us could allow a small group of people to oppress our own, larger, group, sometimes brutally, then when […]

Courage to Forgive

When someone wrongs us, we get angry. It’s really that simple. The greater the wrong, the greater the anger. And it’s easy to hold onto anger. If we don’t make an effort to get rid of it, it remains. It festers. It grows. Anger becomes a desire for retribution, for vengeance. It turns into resentment, […]