At the ceremonial signing of SB 295 – the landmark law expanding Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs) in New Hampshire – the atmosphere was celebratory. Smiles, handshakes, and applause marked the occasion. But amidst the joy, a quiet moment in the crowd revealed a deeper truth. As Renee Austin stood with her son Xander – a child with learning needs who uses a wheelchair – two critics of the bill confronted her without provocation. Their words carried a familiar undertone: that her child didn’t “be...

As part of my series about young people who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Bilodeau. Ryan Bilodeau is a teacher, author and homeless advocate who has spent his life working for causes bigger than himself. A political science and philosophy graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Ryan spent his college years cutting his teeth on and winning awards for marketing, advertising and event planning while working for political candidates and consulti

The coronavirus causes us to confront, yet again, the problem of evil, and to ask why God permits such suffering. Parents who receive the news that their child was killed in a school shooting. A teenager who was left orphaned after his parents were killed in a car accident. Hundreds of thousands of people whose family members were lost to the coronavirus pandemic. All these events have people asking one question: why would a good God allow bad things to happen to good people? This question has

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I proposed to Ann in May of 2019, and within a few months, we decided upon a wedding in June of 2020 at the beautiful Our Lady of Providence Chapel and reception at the adjacent Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, Rhode Island. The attractive chapel and mansion, and the picturesque Narragansett Bay just one hundred yards away would all make for a fairy-tale wedding. And then, coronavirus came. We knew immediately that the series of rites of passages we had planned,

The events in which our state finds itself must not have been imagined by General John Stark when he coined the phrase “live free or die” in 1809. As I write these words, most Granite Staters are restricting their movements (among other behaviors) in an attempt to prevent the same death about which Stark wrote. For me this means that a solid Sunday composed of mac n’ cheese at The Barley House in Concord preceded by Mass just a few blocks away at Christ the King is no longer possible. For others

Of the estimated 205 million people who shopped on Black Friday, 1 million more of them shopped online than braved the cold and turkey-induced exhaustion carrying over into trips to retail stores. For those looking at the numbers, the question becomes whether or not online shopping on Black Friday has become a zero-sum game. Some context is important. From my perspective it seems that the experience of going shopping on Black Friday is synonymous with the attainment of (and probably adds to) th

Catholic schools week will soon be upon us, and there is much to reflect on, be thankful for and proud of as Catholic educators. A couple of months ago I wrote an article about my high school English teacher and the role he played in my spiritual development as a teenager. In it I argued that the role of a teacher is not only to impart academic information, but also to set an example for what a healthy and holy life looks like. In Mr. Lawrence I had a model of consistency inside and outside of

Are you a young adult in New Hampshire searching for a career outside of the office and clear of the cubicle? Does the very notion of reporting to a boss make you unsettled? If so, you’ve probably at least considered leaving it all behind and launching a small business. If the all-consuming nature of such an undertaking has prevented you from moving beyond a “maybe” in your decision making process, then a recently released report regarding our state’s business climate just may be the evidence n

In my last column, I praised New Hampshire as a state whose many attributes prove possible the ability to possess more than just a job but a calling. But how realistic is it to maintain and thrive in one’s “dream job” at a time in history during which our interconnected and globalized world renders us never truly off the clock? Aren’t we just risking burnout? Earlier this year, Anne Helen Petersen addressed this very issue, or at least the repercussions thereof, when she wrote an influential an

The great thing about volunteering at a soup kitchen or a food pantry is the proximity to those you are helping. My Mom Marie Bilodeau, who ran the food pantry at our church, returned home each week with personal stories about the people she helped. Her experiences always reminded me about a book I read in college called Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. The book had a profound effect on my view of the notion of philanthropy because it called to task any system of charity that necessar