Once upon a time, my career was landscape design and installation. When I was entering the Church, my sponsor asked if I would install an irrigation system for him which, of course, I was eager to do – for the sake of business and because he was a friend.  But I learned then, and many other times, that often those closest to us not only learn ou...

The beginning of fall marks the end of the summer wedding season, and as I see the photos of friends, acquaintances, and distant family members getting married, I can’t help but reflect on the classic Catholic wedding photo. The young couple is standing together looking overjoyed at the foot of the altar framed by decoration and bright colors. Th...

Imagine a man linking arms with his wife and leading her everywhere she goes.  She has lost nearly all her sight, so must rely on him.  She is also quite ill and utterly exhausted.  The man longs for a happier season of marriage, but this is what they’ve been dealt, so he bears it.  He picks up her prescriptions, he helps her eat her meals, a...

Fr. Robert Sirico is fond of referencing the sociologist Robert Nisbet for his distinction between power and authority.  In his book The Soul of Liberty, Fr. Sirico describes Nisbet’s distinction in this way: “[B]oth authority and power are forms of restraint, but…power is an external form and authority is an internal form.  With power, we...