Editor's note: From March 28 - March 30 this year, the Church celebrates the holiest three days of the liturgical calendar, the Easter Triduum, when we commemorate the birth of the Eucharist and the priesthood, the passion, crucifixion and d … [Read more...]
Archives for 2013
Reflections on the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday
Twelve-Step “Pride Elimination” Plan
At the end of Lent, as we are called to put the Crucified One at the center of our lives, we are also encouraged to let go of the many subtle ways pride tempts us to keep ourselves at the heart of things. Narcissus versus Christ washing … [Read more...]
Pondering the story of Passion Sunday: Lessons for our lives
Passion Sunday calls us to be a little more attentive to what we say about others, what we accept about others ... reminding us that there is never a single story about any place, any people, or any person. Usually, on days like Palm … [Read more...]
Lenten Reflections: Patience
We should rejoice that through our unique flaws, God is teaching us the lesson of patience. Jesus Preaching by Tissot Patience is one of the “little virtues.” We may never be called upon to practice heroic virtues, such as martyrdom. How … [Read more...]
The Latest Book Reviews
Winter into Spring Reading For March 2013 Reviews for the following books: CONSTITUTIONAL ILLUSION AND ANCHORING TRUTHS: THE TOUCHSTONE OF THE NATURAL LAW. By Hadley Arkes. (Reviewed by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.) __________ THE SOUL O … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
How should we deal with dissenting Catholic politicians? Is there a moral obligation to reverse a vasectomy? Dissenting Politicians Question: Recently many politicians have claimed that though they are Catholic they are in favor of … [Read more...]
Lenten Reflections: Fasting
Denying material food ... nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Our Lord, and be nourished by his saving word. Through prayer and fasting, we allow Christ to satisfy our deepest hunger and thirst for God. Christ in the Wilderness … [Read more...]
Remembering Who We Are: Recovering from Cultural Amnesia.
The western loss of the larger and smaller narratives which depicted the horizons of life, is a loss of memory on a grand scale, a sign of some deep disorder for those who see it. Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, Western Civilization … [Read more...]
March 2013 Homilies
For Sunday Liturgies and Feasts Homilies for March 2013 The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene by Alexander Ivanov On Fire for the Lord Purpose: When the Lord of all life draws near, we are to bear fruit. To flourish in his se … [Read more...]
On striving for perfection
Our ultimate goal in life, a supernatural goal, which is the face-to-face vision of God in heaven for all eternity, is a state of perfection. Gradual progress or growth from imperfect to perfect is a natural characteristic of all living … [Read more...]
Sent Forth to Father a People: Christ’s Priesthood in our Time
In our faithfulness to God, it falls to the Church, as the announcer of the Good News concerning mankind, and more especially to her priests, to begin re-establishing a civilization of truth and love, and the life that springs forth from … [Read more...]
Symbols and the “Hermeneutic of Continuity”
The camauro appears in the portraits of popes before the Reformation. Its revival for a single occasion by Pope Benedict XVI was surely within his well-known program of the “hermeneutic of continuity." From left to right: Pope Innocent V … [Read more...]
A Dialogue with the HHS Mandate
Editor’s Note: The so-called HHS Mandate, enacted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in January 2012, has been the subject of growing controversy and pending lawsuits. It requires nearly all private health i … [Read more...]
Making sense of another ambiguous “compromise”
Bishop's Corner The scholar, Yuval Levin, has stressed that the new HHS mandate proposal, “like the versions that have preceded it, betrays a complete lack of understanding of both religious liberty and religious conscience.” To live w … [Read more...]
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