The Benefits of BadPreaching - "My Evangelical friends just don’t get [liturgy], and so I’m always happy when they join me at Mass to experience it for themselves—although I know what the fallout will often be: Scrunched up faces and raised eyebrows as they suffer through seemingly mindless ritual, rote prayers, and the occasional lousy sermon ... Indeed, there’s a benefit to mediocre preaching once in a while, and it’s this: The faithful will be all the more likely to focus on what’s most important in the Mass if they aren’t distracted by the brilliant homily. 'A preacher may be able to hold the attention of his listeners for a whole hour,' Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, 'but in this case his words become more important than the celebration of faith.'"

Growing Up Global - A blog devoted to "communicating across boundaries" asked Third Culture Kids (TCKs) to share their experience, producing a number ...