I’ve had it, Chaplain. My right leg still hurts like hell from the shrapnel, and God only knows when the drugs will kick in. But physical pain is one thing; thinking about the insurgents I killed in that firefight last deployment bothers me … [Read more...]
Archives for 2015
More than Sentinels Wait for the Dawn
A Soldier Ponders the Wounds of War and the Absence of God
March 30, 2015 by Fr. Timothy Shea Valentine
Words Written on Ice and Wind
A Creative Writer Reflects on the Craft of Preaching
March 30, 2015 by Fr. Raymond Tucker Cordani
At the turn of the century, I graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. Armed with an MFA in creative writing, I set out to write the Great American Novel. I taught writing at the University of Central Florida in … [Read more...]
The Word in Creation
The Ratzingerian Critique of the Historical-Critical Method and Its Application to the Creation Accounts
March 30, 2015 by Thomas L. McDonald
At the heart of Benedict XVI’s papacy, and of the theological and ecclesiastical career of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, is a highly developed—and in some ways radical—biblical theology. Indeed, all things most characteristic about the work of … [Read more...]
Some Thoughts on Preaching
March 30, 2015 by Fr. Paul Anthony McGavin
Articles on preaching typically emphasize advance preparation. The most crucial advance preparation occurs in seminary, or even pre-seminary, in the systematic reading of Scripture. Long years and discipline in Lectio Divina are the … [Read more...]
Spring Reading for March 2015
March 30, 2015 by Book Reviews
Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers That Even I Can Offer. Leah Libresco (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2015) 192 pages; $12.12. (Reviewed by Fr. David C. Paternostro, SJ) --------- Master Thomas Aquinas and the Fullness … [Read more...]
How to Read Christology and Still Keep Your Faith
March 11, 2015 by Dr. Jake Yap
“Christology” is everywhere. That is, if we take its basic etymology and understand it simply as “speech concerning Christ.” People can utter his name flippantly, even blasphemously. Popular films and novels can be “christological.” And ther … [Read more...]
New Testament Witness
March 11, 2015 by Fr. John Navone, SJ
The faith of the early Christians in Jesus and the Kingdom of his Father constituted them as a community or Church. If it was their shared faith that formed them into a community, who and what they believed in would be the decisive factor … [Read more...]
St. Joseph: His Increasing Importance in Our Times
March 11, 2015 by Fr. Stanley Smolenski, SPMA
In his Apostolic Letter Le Voci of March 19, 1961, the “Pope of St. Joseph,” St. John XXIII, invoked that saint as the Patron of the Second Vatican Council. Shortly after the beginning of that Council, he inserted the name of St. Joseph int … [Read more...]
Jesus, the Flowing and Living Water of “Yhwh”
A Biblical Reflection of the Relation Between Ez 47:1-12 and Jn 5:1-16
March 11, 2015 by Fr. Dempsey Rosales Acosta, SSL, STD
This essay is a theological reflection of two biblical passages and their implicit allusions in matters of theology and Christian spirituality. The first episode is taken from Ez 47:1-12, concerning the pericope of the stream of water that … [Read more...]
What Is the Spirit Saying through Pope Francis?
March 11, 2015 by Fr. Michael Najim
When I was in seminary, I learned in moral theology the importance of avoiding moralistic preaching. In short, moralistic preaching is when a priest simply states the rules. For example: a priest preaches that abortion is wrong and sinful; … [Read more...]
A Due-Process Compliant Pathway to Restore Constitutional Fetal Personhood and Reverse Roe v. Wade
March 11, 2015 by Philip Rafferty
“The power of the modern state {including one of its arms, such as its highest court} makes it possible for it to turn lies into truth by destroying the facts which existed before, and by making new realities to form what until then had b … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
March 11, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Pope John XXIII was recently canonized, but I have read that he allowed documents to be produced saying that Jews were Christians to save them during World War II. Is this not a lie? A father of teenagers recently tried to get me to … [Read more...]
Homilies for March 2015
February 24, 2015 by Rev. Ray E. Atwood
Second Sunday of Lent—March 1, 2015 The Transfiguration Purpose: This Sunday’s readings focus on the idea of sacrifice. Abraham offers the greatest sacrifice of thanksgiving possible, his only son Isaac. This sacrifice prefigures the sac … [Read more...]
Revisiting the Rabbits
February 24, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
He said it. I wish he hadn’t said it, but he said it: “God gives you methods to be responsible. ... Some think that—excuse the word—that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits. No.” Pope Francis’ unguarded line about an un … [Read more...]
Sacrificing Priests on the Altar of Insurance
February 24, 2015 by David A. Shaneyfelt and Joseph P. Maher
Fr. Bob (that’s what we’ll call him) was a faithful parish priest for more than 25 years. One day, a process server showed up at the rectory door and handed him a summons and complaint. The complaint alleged that some 20 years earlier he had … [Read more...]
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