Upward mobility is the name of the game in Washington, DC. Michele Dunne played the game, eventually reaching the peak of her career. From the State Department to the US Embassy in Cairo, then to the National Security Council as director for Egypt and North Africa, Dunne had become a premier voice and diplomat for policymaking in the Middle East. She sought to stay true to herself and her values, even in the cutthroat, power-hungry milieu of Washington... Read the remainder o

My 3-year-old son wakes up each day in a world of magic and potential. He’ll empty decks of cards and place them under his wooden train tracks, which he surrounds with cups and bowls. The point? I have no idea. But in his mind perhaps he’s constructed an intricate subway system through a bustling metropolis. He’ll grab his golf putter and drag stools, chairs, weights, books, toys, anything that stirs his imagination into the living room... This column was published in the Sep

I often tell people that I feel like I have the best job, able to listen and learn from people who are way smarter than me as I interview them for Franciscan Media’s Off the Page Podcast . Editing the episode can be its own lectio divina (sacred reading) experience as I allow a guest’s words to sit even deeper in my heart. And in times of difficulty, I often find myself returning to past conversations, contemplating the words and wisdom of someone I’ve interviewed, hoping it

St. Francis of Assisi unexpe ctedly found himself in some contentious situations charting a path toward peace. Whether mediating between a class conflict in Assisi, dialoguing with a sultan during the Fifth Crusade, or, even when he was weak and dying, seeking to reconcile the bishop and podestà (mayor) who were locked in a bitter dispute—there was Francis, in the middle of it all, seeking peac e.  Chloé Valdary has ha d a similar trajectory in her life, somehow finding her