Four years ago my family and I had the opportunity to go to the Thaipusam procession in Singapore. The trip was a last-minute opportunity that we jumped on. So when we landed in Singapore the night of Thaipusam, my husband’s graduate school roommate, a long-time friend we hadn’t seen in numerous years, picked us upContinue reading “The Spiritual Drama of Thaipusam and of Pregnancy”
Author Archives: Laura's Blog
Movie Review: “Our Friend”
I recently watched this biographical drama based on the true-life story of Matt and Nicole Teague and their best friend Dane Faucheux. Nicole is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The treatments do not work. As Nicole’s cancer worsens, Matt struggles to care for her and their kids. Their long term friend, Dane, offers to move in.Continue reading “Movie Review: “Our Friend””
Prudence in the Pursuit of Knowledge
Watch my You Tube Video: Annotated Bibliography Enderton, H.B. “Elements of Set Theory.” London: Elsevier Science (1977). Describes Gödel’s incompleteness theorems which have philosophical significance with respect to the limits of knowledge. Gallagher, K.T. “The Philosophy of Knowledge.” New York: Fordham University Press (1986). An overview of the history of epistemology, which will help meContinue reading “Prudence in the Pursuit of Knowledge”
Celibacy: Something to Consider
Over the past few years I have had quite a few conversations with Catholic parents who do not want their children to consider the priesthood or religious life. The primary reason usually has to do with mandatory lifelong celibacy. Their feelings about this topic are in line with secular American culture. Celibacy is seen asContinue reading “Celibacy: Something to Consider”
Catholic Parents and the Cover Up Culture
Reports about the sex abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church reveal a clerical culture conducive to both sex abuse as well as its cover up. For example, a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report covering six Catholic dioceses says that hundreds of priests abused at least 1000 children over the course of thirty years. BishopsContinue reading “Catholic Parents and the Cover Up Culture”
Robot Priests
One of my Catholic friends in Tokyo once told me that he had an idea about how to solve the priest shortage. Couldn’t we program robots to do much of the work priests do? A robot could say mass and hand out communion, for example. This would reduce the workload for our overworked priests. MyContinue reading “Robot Priests”
Never Enough: An American Way of Life
As we landed in Seattle after three years of living in Tokyo, I clung to the small, wooden Franciscan Toa cross a friend had given me. The cross was a symbol of what I wanted. I wanted more out of life than simply wanting more all the time. The toa cross represented the possibility ofContinue reading “Never Enough: An American Way of Life”
How To Dialogue With Your Neighbor
“Let’s discuss abortion,” is a conversation that will likely lead no where in the US today. Perhaps twenty years ago this could lead to meaningful dialogue. Basic observation leads to the conclusion that the culture is too divided today for conversations like this to bear good fruit. However, we still need to talk about culture.Continue reading “How To Dialogue With Your Neighbor”
Lack of Affirmation: A Societal Epidemic
We hear all the time about people who need affirmation. If you live in an urban area, you may even be approached by people who describe a difficult home life where they did not receive affirmation. Where I live just outside of DC, these people often present themselves as transgender. Too often these issues getContinue reading “Lack of Affirmation: A Societal Epidemic”
Friendship Is Like A Tree
There is this idea that friendship involves “hitting it off” with someone. A friend is someone you get along with. A friend is someone who understands you and a person with whom you have rapport. This view of friendship only accounts for the easy good times. With this view, friendship is valuable if you generallyContinue reading “Friendship Is Like A Tree”
Laura Evans Serna 