Lorna Colbert | Screen cap from  Season 9 Episode 116 of the Colbert ReportStephen Colbert’s mother died last week at 92.  His tribute to her includes a glimpse of how profoundly meaningful the simplest, most private acts of prayer can be. In her last years, Lorna Colbert became a little confused, he tells us. And so people who loved her would ask her simple questions to help her remember. Tucked among all that she had forgotten was the vivid memory of a prayer she said while tucking her children in at night.

His account caused me to reflect on how rare it is to see a completely genuine moment reflected in the media.  We have become so accustomed to being watchers who are being watched that nothing ever seems quite pure of intent. But this little story did.