Entries by Amanda Hackett

Commitment

I’m writing this blog on December 30, 2022, very close to the end of the year. Recently, I’ve been writing things to do with the coming of the New Year […]

TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year

In early December, TIME Magazine chose Volodymyr Zelensky as the Person of the Year because he has had the greatest influence in 2022. How right and just! Thank you, TIME […]

December

December is one month I begin on tiptoe. As an oblate, I’ve often thought there might be something I could learn here. December is the month I birthed two children—one […]

Happy Name Day to You!

Blessings and prayers can be yours if you believe in the custom of patron saints. Because my patron saint is John, the Apostle and Evangelist, whose feast is today (December […]

Mr. Blue

I just finished re-reading a book reprinted 16 times by The Macmillan Company and 18 more times by Doubleday’s Image Books. I bought it decades ago: the 1954 edition by […]

They Say

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in. – Leonard Cohen They say […]

A Contemporary Nativity Scene

A few years ago, the outdoor nativity scene at the Vatican evoked some startling responses. Some people said it was strange and certainly not inspiring; others called it grotesque, ugly—all […]

Dropping Temperatures

This month, my mind went blank when I was considering what to blog about. So I sought help form a colleague and asked her to “Give me a topic, any […]

Friendliest Country to Migrants

I was very saddened last week when I read the opinion of columnist Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post (11/4/22): “The United States is no longer the world’s friendliest country […]