Editor’s note: This article was published in the April 2023 issue of the North Star Catholic. The first time I read a book by Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, I was on a long airline flight. As I became immersed in “Tattoos on the Heart,” my seatmates probably looked at me askance. I alternated laughing aloud, then…
Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Big Lake has roots as deep as the archdiocese. Its first church building was completed and dedicated in 1966, the same year that Pope Paul VI established the Archdiocese of Anchorage and appointed Archbishop Joseph Ryan as its first archbishop. It was to be a baptism of fire…
There’s a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee, and in its midst, a nearly capsized boat full of terrified disciples. The story of Jesus calming this storm is recounted in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke during this summer of Ordinary Time. But what does it mean for us? I like to get…
The crisis in Ukraine, provoked by what is almost universally decried as an unjust assault by Russia on a sovereign neighbor, has captured the attention of people across the world. It’s led to renewed discussions within the Catholic Church about the Christian attitude toward war, the just war theory, and the frightening dangers of escalation….
By Effie Caldarola Imagine you’ve been assigned to minister as the only priest in one of the world’s most remote spots. There’s no road system, and the only way to serve thenearly thirty villages in what is called, unofficially, the largest parish on earth, is to fly a single-engine plane over rugged terrain to a…
The poet Mary Oliver wrote this: “It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.” Consider all she packs into that statement. It’s great to be alive, but it’s serious. The morning is fresh, perhaps glorious, but the world is broken. What will I do with this…
Have you ever been invited to Bill Gates’ house? Neither have I, so I was intrigued by a 2018 article in Business Insider, which gave a glimpse into his digs. The place was valued at $127 million back then. It boasted a 2500 square foot exercise facility, including a trampoline room with 20-foot ceilings, a…
By Effie CaldarolaThe North Star Catholic The Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau will welcome its newest priest when 33-year-old Madison Hayes is ordained at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe on August 6. Although Hayes has family ties to Alaska, he didn’t grow up in the state. Originally from Merced, California, he spent 16 years as…
In 2001, Robert Putnam published Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. The book did well, maybe in part because of that catchy title, and a new edition is out now. Its point wasn’t the collapse of bowling leagues, however. Instead, it was a broad look at how membership in community groups was…
A few days ago, on May 20, the Ignatian Year began. That date marked the 500th anniversary of a cannonball shattering the right knee of a young man named Inigo Lopez de Loyola. For all of you who, like me, have had knee transplants or surgery, that sentence makes you squirm. For the young man…