The Dialog

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

This maxim, often attributed to American essayist and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, raises the question: “When, if ever, have we conducted a thought check, and why is it so important?” Read more »

It’s not often that I visit a mosque. It’s more unusual to visit Omaha’s newest mosque and be directed to park in a synagogue’s parking lot. That’s where a shuttle picked me up and drove me on a road that passed over, I’m not joking, Hell’s Creek on its way to the mosque’s open house.

Those are just a couple of ironies about the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha. The 35-acre site, a former golf course, holds Temple Israel, which was completed first; the mosque, whose title is the American Muslim Institute; and a soon to be built Christian church affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Later, a community building will be added. Read more »

Suite 201 in St. Martha’s House — also known as Casa Santa Marta and Domus Sanctae Martae — in Vatican City is Pope Francis’ residence.

After his 2013 election as pope, Francis famously declined to live in the papal apartment in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace in favor of the guest house facility the Vatican opened in 1996 for visiting cardinals, bishops and clergy. Read more »

My father-in-law died this past month. He was a good, hardworking man, an immigrant, self-taught and self-reliant.

As is likely both the fear and the fate of many of us, he died in a hospital, tethered to a swarm of IVs. With various doctors weighing in on his various conditions, his family struggled to make the right decisions at a time of conflicting advice and great emotion. No one wanted him to go. No one wanted him to suffer.

All our lives, we’ve been trained to rely on doctors for advice. At this literally life-and-death moment, however, they often let us down. As Dr. Dhruv Khullar wrote in The New York Times recently, “For years the medical profession has largely fumbled the question of what we should do when there’s nothing more we can do.” Read more »

Spring, nature’s season of rebirth and growth, has taken on a deadly aspect in Dover’s Legislative Hall with the introduction of three bills this session that focus on ending lives in Delaware.

One bill, Senate Bill 5, would officially make the Federal legalization of abortion part of the Delaware code of laws. The move might seem redundant, but the bill is intended to create back-up law for the First State to invoke, should the Supreme Court ever reverse its 44 years of rulings regarding Roe v. Wade.

Bishop Malooly, in a statement on SB5, has reiterated in his opposition to the measure. He stated on May 1 that the right to life is the first and most fundamental human right, that abortion denies God’s gift of life and dignity to the most vulnerable, and that “the life and dignity of every person must be respected and protected at every stage and every condition. This applies to the unborn as well as the sick, the elderly and those on death row.” Read more »

“Out to the periphery … where God is found today” — this expression from Pope Francis for me states the mission of the church here and now.

On a Sunday afternoon last May, I walked into a church on North Market Street to pay respects to the family of Amy Joyner-Francis, a sophomore who had died of a beating in school, by other girls. Grief numbed her family, seated in the front row; the many students and parents seemed stunned. It was “what should not happen in our community.” Read more »

Based on the record of 2016, there are a lot of things to pray about in the coming year. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what we might focus our petitions on to lessen the painful effects of any bad news heading our way?

However, it isn’t hard to see the challenges, the dangers, the illnesses, the risks, the economies and the wars that afflict so many people. We can join with Pope Francis in his daily prayers for an end to war and violence in the world. Read more »

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Read more »

Last month, I went on a weeklong silent retreat to address a nagging concern. I felt heavy guilt for how I could be enjoying my life when there are profound deprivations and unspeakable suffering.

Catholic Relief Services serves people who do not have enough nutrition, sometimes no decent shelter nor water, little access to proper medical care and, often crippling insecurity from violent conflicts and lost livelihood. Read more »

Dialog reporter

BRANDYWINE HUNDRED – Delmar’s volleyball team and its energetic supporters traveled more than 100 miles on Nov. 5 to meet Ursuline in the second round at Brandywine High School, but, unfortuately for the Wildcats, the stay in northern New Castle County was short-lived. Ursuline, the No. 6 seed in the state tournament, was all business in dispatching No. 22 Delmar in a sweep. The set scores were 25-12, 25-17 and 25-11.

The Raiders came out swinging, getting a trio of kills from freshman Corinne Furey on their way to a 9-3 advantage. Delmar earned a temporary reprieve on an unforced error, but Ursuline followed with five straight. The first and last of those points came on kills courtesy of Kylie Nocket, one a tip, the other an unplayable smash. Read more »