Reflections from Fr. Dennis Gallagher, Provincial of the Assumptionists North American Province

Some of you of a certain age may remember Peggy Lee, the songstress who belted out “Fever,” but also a rather sad song, entitled “Is that all there is?” In that second song, she relates a series of experiences in her life – watching her house burn down as a child, her first visit to the circus, and her first falling in love – and after each one she concludes, “Is that all there is, my friend, is that all there is?” If so, she says, "let’s keep on dancing and bring out the booze." It’s a song of disenchantment, of world-weariness. The world always comes up short in delivering the goods. It always leaves us wanting more. In the face of life’s failure to satisfy our heart’s desire, we’re left with bringing out the booze.