REFLECTIONS ON LIFE, WORK, AND FAITH IN THE 21ST-CENTURY AMERICA
Hopeful stories from a Catholic parent, business professional, and first-generation Asian-American
I went to the 7 AM Mass at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday this past week. The old Catholic church (the oldest one in the city) was a nice 10-minute walk from my hotel in a cool winter morning, and I got there just in time. St. Mary's Basilica is located in …
Continue reading "Judged by Goodness: A (Short) Lent Reflection"
Last year, while driving along the scenic Godley Head Road near Christchurch, New Zealand, a disturbing sight stopped me in my tracks: a car, wrecked and abandoned, lay at the bottom of a hill. I didn’t know what had happened, but I felt sorry for the people in that car. One moment, they might have …
Continue reading "Embracing Uncertainty: A Christmas Reflection"
The month of May (in the US) is a month of whirlwind, wrote author and speaker Laura Kelly Fanucci. It is a month of “sacraments and celebrations, graduations and confirmations, gardens to plant and yards to tend and summer to plan” [1]. Her words certainly resonated with me as I was fortunate enough to personally …
Continue reading "May: A Whirlwind of Celebrations and Possibilities"
For more than two billion Christian people in the world today, the Nicene Creed neatly summarizes their faith in ten sentences. It includes a “definition” of who Jesus Christ, the central figure in Christianity, is. Yet, unbeknownst to many, the Christian faith may have been very different today if not for one man’s leadership, courage, …
Continue reading "Contra Mundum: The Price of Faith and Leadership"
There is a line in the book “A Pilgrimage to Eternity” by Timothy Egan that caught my attention last month. Quoting Ian Goldin, an Oxford professor, he wrote, “There’s never been a better time to be alive, yet we feel so glum. So many people feel anxious. So many people feel this is one of …
As I boarded the Zion Canyon shuttle bus on that cold Wednesday morning in late November, my mind was racing back and forth: Should I hike the mild Kayenta Trail or the famous-but-strenuous Angels Landing? My grown-up kids Dea and Martin, their spouses Vincent and Claire, and my youngest son, Austin, were going to take …
Continue reading "The Virgin and The Angels: Two Days At Zion National Park"
Taking advantage of a 2.5 day break in our schedule, we headed to Lake Catherine State Park near Hot Springs, AR. There we found a lovely cabin on the water, two delightful hiking trails, and a passionate master potter in the woods.
A very short story of Katharine Drexel who, at only 26 years old, became one of the richest persons in the US. Yet, she was also the second American-born person to become a saint. She gave us hope that maybe we, too, can pass through the eye of the divine needle.
In San Francisco’s Mission District, about 2 miles east of the popular Golden Gate Park, stands an old church that started the beautiful city: Mission San Francisco De Asís. The story of its founding offers a powerful reminder that everything happens in God’s time.
America and Indonesia are two countries of beautiful vistas, but eventually it is the people who shape our perception of them. Here is a tribute to the kindness that my family received in the past two weeks from friends and families in both countries.
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE, WORK, AND FAITH IN THE 21ST-CENTURY AMERICA 