This spring, I got an itch for change, and I cut my hair. Sixteen inches of curls lay on the floor. I instantly felt so much lighter. And as I went about my life, it was a big enough change that I didn’t recognize my own reflection. I walked by the microwave in the kitchen or a window on the street and did a double take to see myself clearly. And then I realized that this was also happening inside myself.
You will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7: 16
I have often been fascinated by iconic pairings — how one person or one thing can be inextricably linked to another. Batman and Robin roll off the tongue, a pairing as natural as brie and crackers. Pisa and the leaning tower, Rome and the Vatican, are equally symbiotic. Advertising often depends on this or works hard to create the pairing, so that, for a time, Nike and Michael Jordan were synonymous, and Air Jordans were everywhere.
When I first heard rumblings about a documentary titled Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist I had mixed feelings. While other recent programming such as this year’s Mother Cabrini film and the ongoing series The Chosen had drawn me in along with sizeable audiences sharing a hunger for Catholic representation in media, I found a sense of skepticism about a documentary tackling something as important to the faith as the Eucharist.
As a former competitive amateur athlete in multiple sports, I watched with childlike anticipation the opening ceremonies of the Paris Summer Olympics. However, my natural appreciation of sports, its celebrities, and the beautiful Paris skyline quickly turned to disgust and horror as the ceremony continued to unfold.
Verbatim: An excerpt from a letter of Pope Francis on the fourth centenary of the birth of Blaise Pascal
An excerpt from The Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis on the fourth centenary of the birth of Blaise Pascal delivered in Rome on June 19, 2024.