Every year newspapers put forth editorials about expectations for the New Year. Looking back, 2015 has been perhaps, the most unsettling in the first decade of the new millennium. With the rise of the Islamic State, we have seen a global war by a group of extremists who justify killing non-believers in the name of their religion. Factually speaking, the...

Most fans recognize this moment from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.  It’s the moment when Captain Kirk has been hopelessly left to die on a seemingly desolate location by his scene-chewing arch-enemy Khan. Watching the film recently, I noticed something that I had previously overlooked. Facing the unimaginable, Kirk vents his anger (KHAAAAAAAAAAN!!), and then… he just sits down....

To whom do you turn in the midst of crisis? Who has the requisite wisdom to lessen your doubts, your fears and anxieties? Of all the speeches given in 2015, none comes close to that of Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. During the five days that Francis visited the United States, he was welcomed with warmth...

Since the attacks in Paris last Friday, like many, I have been struggling to understand why some people are so consumed by hate that it leads them to commit monstrous acts. I remembered a book I’ve had since college, Man’s Search for Meaning, by psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. In the book’s preface, psychologist Gordon Allport writes, “As a longtime prisoner in...

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”  – St. Augustine Before his elevation to the head of the Catholic Church, Jorge Bergoglio began as a Jesuit priest from Argentina. Since his investiture as Pope in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis — in honor of Francis of...

The Take was amazed and gratified by three positive events that demonstrated the best we can be. Forgiveness – At the bail hearing for the murder suspect in the Charleston Church shooting this past week, a remarkable and noble spirit spoke. As reported by the Christian Science Monitor (June 20), “ ‘We already forgive him for what he’s done, and...

Even as he took the oath of office, Lincoln knew that civil war was coming. In his first speech as commander and chief, even as he urged restraint, he made clear “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war… You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while...

On September 11, 2001, you shook American when you took 2,996 lives, but we survived, rebuilt and became stronger. On April 15, 2013, you murdered five individuals and injured 280, but rallies were held proclaiming “Boston Strong,” and the yearly event continues. In the short run, your attacks have succeeded in killing or injuring thousands of innocent men, women and...

This remarkable story of a confession coming decades later is surpassed only by the extraordinary power of forgiveness. As reported on the CBS Evening News (Jan. 5), it’s a reminder to us all about the power of redemption. “Nearly four weeks ago, Ricky Jackson was exonerated after spending 39 years in prison — serving the longest sentence for a wrongful...

His birth name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but that changed on March 13, 2013 when he became Pope Francis, a humble, Jesuit priest who took the bus to work when he was cardinal of Buenos Aires. He is the first Jesuit Pope and already, in this past year, he has made a difference in the lives of many. According to...