Jason Lief

For one year I worked as a volunteer at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis, MN. I was doing graduate work in the field of Pastoral Care so I volunteered as a chaplain. The Cristo Rey network of high schools focuses on helping young…

Facebook's a funny thing; or, at least it's full of things that are funny. Like the puritan Valentines day cards, which were perfect for this year's Ash Wednesday / Valentines day mashup. I really like this one: Messing around on Facebook the other day I…

A few weeks ago an editorial appeared in the local paper in which the author took democrats to task. (The article is titled "Democrats Threatened by the Weather" in the Sioux Center News. There is no online version available.) The tone was not very generous;…

Walking down the hallway, my wife noticed a poster advertising two events. The first was a princess ball, a daddy - daughter "purity" banquet. The second was a medieval mother/son purity dance. (Dilly Dilly!) I've never been to a purity banquet, or any daddy/daughter event…

The knock on the door took us both by surprise. It was 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon, the day of our church Christmas program. I had to be there in an hour to make sure everything was ready to go, my wife had to be…

Having seen The Last Jedi twice, and having read numerous interpretations and critiques, I admit I enjoyed the film. I know I'm not supposed to like it—I guess real fans are supposed to be upset with the Marvelesque attempts at humor. Strange, the reason Han…

Listening to NPR the other day I heard a story about a metal band from New Zealand with the name Alien Weaponry. What makes their story unique is the language they use in their songs—Te Reo Māori, the language of the indigenous Māori people. Here's a…

When I think about the future of Perspectives I’m optimistic. Why? We’re still here! So many journals have disappeared, unable to survive the technological revolution. Maybe Perspectives is like an indestructible weed that resists every attempt to snuff it out. Or, maybe we have something…