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- Written by EJ Sweeney
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a local Ash Wednesday service to get my ashes. I couldn’t believe how packed the church was. The church I went to seats about four hundred people. Every pew was filled to capacity and people were standing along the outside aisles. Many others crowded into the Narthex--another two hundred by my count. There were so many people that the distribution of ashes, which normally takes five minutes or so, nearly took fifteen minutes!
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
The Cold War ended over thirty years ago, making a Russian invasion of another, sovereign nation unthinkable. And yet, once again we are watching the Hell of war unfold before our eyes. The images coming out of Ukraine are heartbreaking. In a rare act of unity and solidarity, the entire world is justifiably horrified and outraged. But the entire world is also shocked, perplexed at how such an unprovoked, naked act of aggression could be happening in 2022.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Shocking is the only way to describe the news story I just heard. It was about Coach Kennedy, a former marine who, if I heard correctly, is an Afghanistan combat veteran. When he got out of the service, he began coaching high school football in his home state of Washington. He loves coaching. He adores the kids he’s been entrusted with. He calls coaching the highlight of his life.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Merry Christmas! Or should I have wished you a Happy Holidays? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. After purchasing a Christmas gift several years back, I turned to the clerk who helped me and wished her a “Merry Christmas”. In reply, she wished me a “Happy Holidays”. But not in a polite, joy-of-the-season way. She said it more in a scolding way. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but she seemed to be offended that I had wished her a “Merry Christmas” and was trying to correct me so that I would never make the same mistake again and only ever wish people “Happy Holidays” instead.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
My heart sank last week when the news came out about the latest COVID variant, OMICRON. All I could think was: Here we go again. This past summer things were looking up. It seemed like we were finally coming out of the pandemic. Then we were hit with the DELTA variant. As mask requirements were put back into effect, we all dreaded having to go through another winter of social distancing and lockdowns. But over the last month or so, we’ve been getting a better handle on DELTA and things were starting to look up again. Until the news about OMICRON. How can we not feel anything but depressed and defeated? How can there be any good in OMICRON?
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
In preparation for the 2020 Presidential debate, Joe Biden asked John Kerry to play the role of his adversary, Donald Trump. From the Biden Campaign’s perspective, Kerry’s ability--and willingness--to be as adversarial as possible during the debate prep was a good thing. It made Biden a much stronger candidate.
