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Beyond Blue

I’ve been kidding my friend Jim Martin that he has become the Hannah Montana of the religious publishing world. He just spoke to an audience of 8,000 people at a conference in LA. Everywhere I turn around I hear him (on NPR), I read him (in the New York Times), etc. He likes that I…

Speaking of marriage vows, Liza Mundy highlighted an incredible commitment of love in her Washington Post magazine piece about a devoted husband, Dave Kendell, who cares for a disabled wife, Diana, and all that entails: preparing her meals, fixing her hair, keeping her active. The incisive article discusses the toll of aging and infirmity on…

What’s worse for kids: a bad marriage or divorce? The Eliot Spitzer scandal asks that questions all over again, not that I’m implying that they have a bad marriage. It’s just that, well, Silda’s husband hired a hooker. There’s sort of a big problem. Should she bolt or stay? I always feel uncomfortable commenting on…

I’ve always understood sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, as laziness. But Christian author Kathleen Norris helped me understand the “sin” in a much broader context, and one that’s intertwined with depression. (Not that depression is a sin. I want to make that clear) Here are some excerpts from her article in Christian Century…

I think my friend, Fr. Jim Martin, did an excellent job of explaining where the media went wrong in all the hype about “the new seven deadly sins.” Below I’ve pasted his blog post from “In All Things,” a blog written by “America’s” (the Catholic weekly magazine) editors. But click on this link to read…

Fr. Martin also appeared on National Public Radio to explain the new social sins. Click here to get to his segment. From the interview: “I think it’s to remind people that sins are not just individual,” Fr. Martin says referring to the Catholic church’s old seven deadly sins — lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy…

Okay, so if I was in any doubt that I had committed a mortal sin, now I know God’s nodding his supremely good head. Because also on the NPR site is a review of the “Drivers’ Ten Commandments.” Umm. Yikes. I didn’t think to take into consideration all my temper tantrums in traffic, and to…

Confession: I had to consult my “Catechism of the Catholic Church” today to review what, exactly, is a mortal sin: A grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life in the soul of the sinner (sanctifying grace), constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions…

Awhile back I wrote a post about the fear center within your brain, the amygdala, and how identifying it’s reptilian instincts can often spare me some of the panic it produces in my nervous system. I tell myself that my amygdala, whom I call Amy, is throwing a bash upstairs, and I have to go…

I think it’s also important for addicts and depressives to keep in mind the head rush that happens in the infatuation stage of a relationship. Not confusing the dopamine and norepinephrine high with true love is so crucial in making such massive decisions like ending a marriage, committing to a marriage, leaving a marriage for…
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