The Shepherd’s Pie: Christian-Jewish Relations

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The Shepherd’s Pie: Christian-Jewish Relations

 

“A slice of hope to raise faithful kids.”

This uplifting, ecumenical show uses engaging conversations and fun entertainment reviews to offer positive insights and media resources for families and youth leaders. We discuss current issues that impact young people at home, in school, and in the world today.

In this episode of The Shepherd’s Pie, Antony Barone Kolenc speaks with Jonathan Feldstein about building bridges between Christians and Jews,
discussing his organization, the Genesis 123 Foundation.

 

Check out other episodes of The Shepherd’s Pie.

Copyright 2025 Antony Barone Kolenc

Have You Doodled Today?

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Have You Doodled Today?

Why Doodling, Graphic Novels, and Bible Journaling Belong in Every Catholic Writer’s Creative Life

I remember how I made my first friend in high school. On the school bus, I sat next to a blond-haired girl with wispy bangs and bright blue eyes. With her notebook on her lap, she taught me how to doodle an elephant. This was Josie’s signature doodle. She doodled that elephant all the time—even getting in trouble for it during class. Especially in Mr. Noble’s English class. He’d call on her for an answer and embarrass her for escaping once again into her elephant world of squiggly ears and squiggly trunks.

Because of this, I was too afraid to doodle in class until college. College was finally a space where students were treated as adults and given the freedom to learn in their own way. As I listened to lectures, fluttering butterflies and leafy vines climbed their way up and around the margins of my notebook. For me, doodling was a way to relax and allow the information to sink in.

Doodling as Creative Storytelling

When I had a baby during the COVID-19 lockdown, doodling became a way for me to linger on the page a little longer. After journaling about my day, I’d sketch a small scene alongside my entry. The drawings weren’t “good,” but they felt good.

Then I discovered One of Those Days, a funny comic series about first-time parenting. I immediately connected with the vivid scenes of real parenting moments. It opened my eyes to how graphic art can deeply resonate with readers—and to a new way of storytelling: memoir comics.

A Non-Artist’s Introduction to Comics: The Joy of SAW

Recently, I found the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW), a nonprofit that offers comics courses and free Friday-night Zoom workshops. These weekly sessions draw people from all over the world. You don’t have to be an artist to join. I certainly don’t consider myself one—just a lifelong doodler.

People of all ages attend and make it their own. Some treat it as self-care time. Others show up with friends for a “creative happy hour.” And for me, it’s become a way to bond with my daughter, who’s a talented artist and graphic novel fan.

How Graphic Novels Helped My Daughter Fall in Love with Reading

I credit graphic novels with helping my daughter fall in love with reading and discover her artistic style. As a mom, I turned to graphic novels once I realized that my daughter wasn’t into traditional chapter books. Once I discovered her niche, I went all in. I’d buy her Archie comics in line at the grocery store and check out every graphic novel series I could find at our local library.

Why Catholic Writers Should Embrace Graphic Art

As Catholic writers, we often focus on words—Bible verses, Scripture reflections, essays. But art is also a powerful way to reflect, to pray, and to connect with others. In recent years, there’s been a rise in Bible journaling, doodling in the margins of Scripture, and Christian adult coloring books as tools for stress relief and meditation.

Catholic publishers are taking note, too. Graphic novels like The Saint Chronicles by Sophia Institute Press and The Action Bible by David C. Cook bring saints and sacred stories to life through stunning visual storytelling. These Christian comics are a wonderful way to reach young readers—especially those, like my daughter, who prefer illustrated formats.

Explore Other Creative Communities

If you’re looking for new ways to be creative and feel inspired, I encourage you to check out SAW’s Friday Night Workshops. I promise you won’t get in trouble for doodling. And who knows? You might even make a new friend or discover a whole new way to tell your story.

 

Copyright 2025 Janet Tamez

Edited by Gabriella Batel

Accepting Onions

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Accepting Onions

by Paula Veloso Babadi

“For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead!” (Romans 11:15)

My husband and I recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary.  There was no big party or extravagant vacation, just a quiet dinner reminiscing about what a journey it had been. We were grateful to be where we are now through tears and laughter, peaks and valleys. Then, my husband reminded me proudly that after all these years he was still my onion!

Something as simple as an onion contains contradictions. When it is pulled from the ground, it is at once intense, pungent, and strong, yet so easily torn by handling its delicate skin. It is sweet when sautéed, but causes us to cry in its raw state.  Scientists have tried to suppress the onion enzyme that brings on the tears, but in doing so, they discovered their engineering caused unwanted changes in the onion’s essence and compromised its health benefits.

Over the years, I learned that soaking an onion in water before you chop it can lessen tears, that the flavor becomes sweeter when sautéed gently on lower heat, and that when peeling, be careful because the best nutrition is preserved under that first skin. You could say the same about my own “onion.”  I decided long ago to accept onions (and my husband) as they are, without alteration— to endure raw tears and enjoy delectable taste.  My husband and I laugh over a poem I wrote about our relationship (below). We have been through raw, sweet, and savory times. You know what I mean: I love onions, but they still make me cry now and then. 

 

Accepting Onions

by Paula Veloso Babadi

 

I’m an onion through and through.

You like me when I’m in the stew, 

Flavor mingling with the rest

I think that’s when you like me best.

When you face me raw, I make you cry,

My taste too strong for you to try,

But persevere and you will find

The secrets in each layer of mine— 

For though my flavor is intense,

My benefits are quite immense.

Polyphenols, flavenoids,

Boost the heart, fill diet voids.

They reside in my first layer,

So peel me with the greatest care.

Anti-bacterial, good with liver,

Even helps with the blood sugar.

To get these benefits, you must commit

to take me daily and never quit.

Don’t like onions? Think again,

I give you paper from my skin.

Pungent taste enjoyed through time

I’m the star of feta, pita, herbs, and wine.

 

Those who’ve learned to appreciate me

Discovered there’s more than what they see.

I know I’m harsh and sometimes rotten, then

You throw me out, completely forgotten.

But I’m also tasty, savory, and sweet.

The choice is yours whether or not to eat.

And when my Panthial S-Oxide makes you cry

Remember my qualities that elicit a sigh.

I may be just your onion,

In some ways good and some not,

But without you to complete me,

I’m only food in the pot.

It’s when you accept me for what I am,

I become the finest pick in the land.

 

Copyright 2025 by Paula Veloso Babadi 

Edited by Gabriella Batel

Ferris Wheel Image by Harut Movsisyan from Pixabay

A Playground and a Carnival

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A Playground and a Carnival

 

Violence affects everyone.  Love is the way to help our brothers and sisters affected.

I was raised in California to two middle class parents. I had a good childhood except for the playground. I would get up in the morning with a sick stomach. My father and mother would greet me cheerfully and bring me the breakfast they had made.

“Ok it’s time for school,” they would say optimistically. They knew I dreaded school but they did not know why. During their childhoods, playgrounds were made safe with playground monitors who didn’t tolerate nonsense.

There were three rules to the playground:

-Dress and act like everyone else.

-Don’t be too smart or too dumb.

-Don’t ever draw attention to yourself.

Those who did not follow the rules were going to see bullying and harassment.

One time there was a new boy who came. He didn’t obey the rules. He had on foreign clothes and had an accent. He drew plenty of attention.

I remember one day in particular in June as classes were getting out, he was being harassed. The children pulled out some of his hair and tore his clothes. Then they dragged him to the sandbox and buried him. They thought they could dig him up but he was dead.  I still remember it as if it were yesterday. I didn’t say anything to help him.

Today I am going into my office at the toy company I work at. We don’t seem to get anywhere with our products. Today is another product idea presentation. It is Lydia again and the bosses hate her. There are many reasons. She dresses sloppy and her shirt is buttoned eschew.  Sometimes she wears two different shoes. She is a genius and gets her work done early in the day. The rest of the time, she stares into the ceiling.

Her idea is to have balls that bounce up and down on the ceiling.  They will be multicolored balls: red, orange, yellow, and green. She can see them in her mind’s eye bouncing around.

The bosses say that will never work.

Her next idea was a system of arms and legs that danced with you. You could tune it to many different styles of dancing including waltz, disco, salsa, two step.

She tries it on and it dances her around to the tune of “You Should be Dancing” by the Bee Gees. It looks silly but she is laughing while she is dancing and moving all over the floor of the office. People are looking her way. Some of them look intrigued. Then the three people who like her the least are jealous. They start laughing at her and messing up her steps. I feel nervous and nauseated. The flashback comes of the boy I didn’t save. I am getting angry at the bullies. The world is swirling around me.

I glance at Bryan the ex-Marine. He too is struggling. He is thinking of the battles with the enemy and he’s clenching his fist.

I look at my friend Ming and she shakes her head at me. Violence is not the answer.

I remember the words of the great man, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Then Sonia speaks up.  “I like it!” she exclaims. I want to try it!  She gets it and makes it play “La Vida es un Carnaval” by Celia Cruz.

“Anyone that thinks that life is unfair

They really need to know it’s not like that

Life is a beautiful thing, we have to live it

Anyone that thinks they are alone and that it’s wrong

They really need to know it’s not like that

In this life there’s no one alone, there’s always Someone

You see, life is a carnival, and singing though it is lovely

You see, life is a carnival, and those sorrows disappear singing

You see, life is a carnival, and singing though it is lovely

You see, life is a carnival, and those sorrows disappear singing”

— La Vida es un Carnaval*

© Copyright 2025 by Cecile Bianco

*Daniel, V. (1998). La vida es un carnaval [Recorded by Celia Cruz]. On Mi vida es cantar [CD]. N.Y., N.Y., United States: RMM Records.

Translation of “La vida es un carnaval” found on https://www.letras.com/celia-cruz/9256/english.html#google_vignette

Ferris Wheel Image by Image by Harut Movsisyan https://pixabay.com

People dancing Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-smiling-and-dancing-6173868/

Christ Sends Apostles Out in Pairs Anonymous Dutch Painting, Public Domain

Two by Two

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Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. (Mark 6:7)

 

Two by two. Not alone. Not in a group. Jesus sent out the twelve two by two.

Jesus could have sent the disciples out on their own. After all, there would come a time when they would each go their own way — James to Spain, Thomas to present-day Iran, Andrew to Greece, John to Asia, Matthew to Africa, and so on. He could have told them that this first sending out was meant to prepare them for what was to come. He could have told them that there are times in life when they would feel and be alone, and they would have nobody to turn to or consult or just talk to.

Likewise, He could have sent them in two groups of six or three groups of four. There’s safety in numbers. Plus, groups of young men traveling around the globe attracting audiences have always been popular, right?

 

Two Are Better than One

Instead, Jesus sent them two by two. He knew that two is better than one, and often two work better than a group. In Ecclesiastes, we read,

Two are better than one … If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

C.S. Lewis takes it even farther. He tells us in the introduction to  Athanasius’ On The Incarnation, “Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.” Two people are more accountable and hold each other accountable. They recognize when one is going off course and can steer each other to the right place, be it a safe harbor or a challenging cliff that can only be climbed together.

 

Finding A Second

For several years, I have thought about whether I need a spiritual advisor. Of course, being human and being the independent, forge ahead at all costs person I am, I’ve always laughed it off as something I don’t need and certainly don’t have time for! I never stopped to think that maybe I don’t have time for one because I’m not making the time or because I’m not where I’m meant to be and am too busy running around to see it.

More and more, this concept of having someone else in my spiritual corner — someone to help me when I’m falling, when I’m off course, when I need help — has been weighing more and more on my heart. I finally reached out to a friend who is a spiritual advisor and asked her opinion. As expected, she told me that “the Holy Spirit is a nudger worth listening to.”

In sending the Apostles out two by two, Jesus affirmed the view of two people working together to help each other out, to receive help when one falls, and direction when off-course, to further the Kingdom. If Jesus felt that this was the best way to go about our missions and bring His Word to the world, who am I to try to make the journey solo?

 

Christ Sends Apostles Out in Pairs Anonymous Dutch Painting, Public Domain

Christ Sends Apostles Out in Pairs Anonymous Dutch Painting, Public Domain

 

We Can’t Do It Alone

So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:12-13)

As two together, the Apostles experienced the fruits of the Holy Spirit. They were successful, doing as Jesus told them, and healing may of their afflictions, both spiritual and physical. Perhaps they would not have been able to accomplish this on their own. Even after Jesus died, and they were to carry on the mission, they needed the Holy Spirit to descend upon them and grace them with confidence and ability. They couldn’t do it alone.

My brothers and sisters, if you are pondering where to turn for guidance and companionship on your spiritual journey, know that you are not alone and that you aren’t meant to be. If not a spiritual advisor, seek someone who will share the mission with you, be there when you fall, and steer you in the right direction. Two are better than one.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

 

Let us pray: Lord, I ask you to open my heart and my mind to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I pray that you lead me to the person you have chosen as my spiritual partner. Help us to further Your Kingdom as we walk two by two. Amen.

Copyright 2025 Amy Schisler

Retreat and Discernment

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Retreat and Discernment

Our gospel reading this weekend reports that “Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” (Matthew 17:1) (1)

Other passages in scripture also demonstrate how our Lord retired into the wilderness, alone or with spiritual companions, as an integral part of his spiritual rhythm. He used these respites to focus on prayer, and to replenish his energies during a demanding physical ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing.

Retreats and spiritual direction offer refreshment for our own lives as Catholics, too. Recently, I participated in a first formal one-day orientation to the teachings of St. Ignatius.

For many years, my primary resource for discernment has been Authenticity: A Biblical Theology of Discernment, written by Thomas Dubay, S.M. (2)

That reading provided a welcome foundation for what I experienced at “Image & Imagination in Prayer,” an Ignatian retreat sponsored by Emmaus House in Urbandale, Iowa on July 22.

Emmaus House was founded in the Diocese of Des Moines by Jesuit priests in 1973, at the invitation of then-Bishop Maurice Dingman. At first, Emmaus House served the diocese by providing spiritual direction and retreats exclusively for Catholic clergy. But it quickly expanded to offer these resources for members of the Catholic lay community as well as some Protestant clergy. (3)

I was intrigued by how original spiritual methods developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century anticipated several techniques employed by archetypal psychologists today.

Swiss physician C. G. Jung, the founder of archetypal psychology, studied Ignatius’ teachings in the early 20th century, and gave a series of lectures about their value in Zurich between 1933 and 1941. English translations of these lectures have been published only recently, in January of 2023.

Both approaches focus on events in ordinary daily life. Both are designed to bring forth the full flowering of human individuality. Both honor the integrity of images and feelings as they emerge from a person’s inner being, and use “active imagination” to help deepen relationship with the unique divine spark alive in each of us.

What Dubay calls outer verifications occurred throughout my one-day introduction to Ignatian method. I crossed paths with dear friends from different parts of the diocese as well as from different eras in my life; and encountered new acquaintances who wandered in my direction for a purpose we discovered together only as we met.

Under leadership of spiritual director Amy Hoover (4), we contemplated a series of readings and questions offered for private prayer and reflection. Then time was provided for optional sharing with individual retreat partners at our tables.

Reported movements of the Holy Spirit permeated the retreat throughout the day. These repeated, meaningful ‘coincidences’ — simultaneous events without any causal relationship — are what Jung called “synchronicities.”

In one humorous example, intending to excuse myself for a trip to the coffee table during a break, I commented to my companion, “I think I need some sugar.”

Snickers bars immediately dropped down from above our heads, right in front of our faces, like manna from heaven.

We both looked up to see the refreshment hostess making rounds with a bag of candy. But how did she manage to arrive at our table — one of more than twenty in a large parish hall — to be there at the exact moment I spoke?

Later, we were asked to write what we noticed about a picture postcard. While I had written about the display of creation — seasonal weather, contrasts in foliage, moss growing on ancient stones — one of my table mates had first noticed that “there’s no human being here.” She had placed herself and her husband taking a walk, right into the picture, as her focus for the scene.

Another companion among us had been seized first by curiosity about the path’s curve into a distance that lay behind bushes and trees. He had written with poetic insight about what might lie unseen around the bend.

Most dioceses in the United States publish a list of trained spiritual directors and local retreat opportunities, often right on their websites. If you haven’t yet experienced these gifts of our faith, it might be worth exploring what resources are available near you.

Scriptural readings for the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola on July 31, and for the Feast of Transfiguration of the Lord on August 6, are rich with vivid images for further contemplation on your own, too.

I pray that each of us can experience a personal transfiguration this August. May we feel the awe and wonder that enlightened Peter, James, and John two thousand years ago, when they witnessed our Lord in earnest conversation with Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor.

©Copyright 2023 by Margaret King Zacharias

Featured Photo: View frim summit of Mount Tabor ©Copyright 2023 by Margaret King Zacharias 

NOTES:

  1. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080623.cfm.
  2. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1977, originally published by Dimension Books.
  3. https://www.theemmaushouse.org/history.
  4. https://www.theemmaushouse.org/eighth-annual-ignatian-retreat

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