Geodes are the Forrest Gumps of geology. Remember what Forrest’s mother always told him? “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” Geodes are ordinary-looking rocks that conceal extraordinary treasures. In some locales they’re known as potato rocks because of their resemblance to Idaho spuds. But when cracked open they reveal a fairyland… Read more »
The Creation of Adam is the centerpiece of one of the world’s most famous paintings. More than 500 years ago the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo covered the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel with a sweeping artistic vision of Bible history. Everything seems to swirl around the moment that God reaches out toward the newly created Adam. It took four… Read more »
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the… Read more »
Christmas carols are a bit like chili. There’s more than one great recipe out there. And surprising combinations can sometimes bring the best results. Angels We Have Heard on High is an excellent example. The tune is French. The most familiar verses, penned by James Chadwick in 1862, are English. The refrain (Gloria in excelsis Deo, or “Glory to God… Read more »
2020 has been a dumpster fire. This week an Indianapolis resident hauled a dumpster into his front yard and invited his neighbors to record their feelings about the current calendar year. Some scrawled “good riddance.” Others recorded jokes, jingles, and borderline poetry. At least one resorted to expletives. In a few days the dumpster’s trashy contents will be ceremonially torched… Read more »
There’s only one widely-sung Christmas carol whose verses tell a story. It’s also the only carol that spotlights a real-life character not found on the pages of scripture. We’re talking about Good King Wenceslas, the recitation of a medieval tale now more than 1,000 years old. The lyrics we sing were composed by the English hymnwriter John Mason Neal… Read more »
Not all of the best-loved Christmas songs are hundreds of years old. Mary, Did You Know? hasn’t yet celebrated its 30th birthday, but it’s already become something of a classic. Composer Buddy Greene and lyricist Mark Lowry – two members of the Gaither Vocal Band from Alexandria, Indiana – wrote this song for Michael English, who performed it on his… Read more »
Noel is a French word that means “birth of God,” which speaks to the mystery at the heart of Christmas. But the familiar carol called The First Noel is English through and through. No amount of research has turned up the composer of the tune or the author of the verses, but historians suspect they may go back as far… Read more »
In the 1740s, it was neither safe nor popular to be Roman Catholic in England. John Francis Wade was an English composer who met many of his exiled countrymen, persecuted Catholics, while working in France. Moved by their spiritual traditions, he penned the Latin song Adeste Fidelis (“Come, faithful ones”). Ironically O Come, All Ye Faithful quickly became a favorite… Read more »
Father Gregory Boyle is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, a widely acclaimed gang intervention program. It’s a ministry that involves considerable heartache. As of 2017 and the release of his book Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, Boyle had presided at the funerals of 220 gang members, most of whom had died… Read more »
