Mercy: forgiving with another’s well-being in mind. Letting something pass without condemnation. Like many virtuous qualities, I often find it easier to define by its absence, by what it looks like when I fail to practice it, which I all too often do. I fail to be merciful when I cling to what I thinkContinue reading >>
Mercy all around
Today the Church, led by Pope Francis, begins a Jubilee Year of Mercy. In preparing to discuss this with students I spent a lot of time reading about and contemplating mercy. Giving myself time to think about spirituality during a busy season was a gift. Reflecting on the past few years of illness and long-distance relationshipsContinue reading >>
To want something other than vengeance
This morning Boston awoke to read something extraordinary, yet somehow not unexpected, from one of the families most impacted by the horror of the Boston Marathon bombings. They want federal prosecutors to take the death penalty off the table in the penalty phase of the recently-convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Why was this not unexpected? Because Bostonians inContinue reading >>