When my brother and I were younger we used to love watching The X-Files. Anyone who came of age in the 90s will remember the show. Mulder and Scully were FBI agents trying to track down shadowy figures in government—today we would call it “the deep state”— believed to have... Read More →

My eight-year-old daughter Maggie, who has Down syndrome, made her First Confession last month. And therein lies a story. It had been scheduled rather last minute. Communication with the parish during the past year has been challenging, and with vacation, etc., I lost track of... Read More →

  You may have heard it said—even in a sermon, which should be free of such speculation—that Christians chose December 25 to celebrate Jesus’ birth because that was the day the Romans held a festival celebrating the sun god. The idea, oft... Read More →

  Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” It’s an aggressive instruction. The word for “put,” as elsewhere in this passage, can mean... Read More →

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This day brings fond memories of many happy celebrations at the McFadden’s New York City apartment, which was next to the parade route. My parents welcomed family and friends for what was truly a multi-cultural event: German food, because my Dad’s mom was... Read More →

Welcome to Insisting on Life, where I will be greeting you weekly with news, commentary, great links and special guests. The name is the title we gave to our collection of essays by the late, great journalist and Review contributor Nat Hentoff, whom we honored in 2005 as our... Read More →