Fr. Karl Rahner (1904-1984) began as a faith-filled and imaginative theologian, someone who, even now, still provides unmatchable insights into the nature of divinity, and into the searching soul who longs to cleave to God. Rahner worked … [Read more...]
What Is Really At Stake for Catholic Voters in this Election
November 2016 Editorial
November 4, 2016 by David Vincent Meconi
In his Republic, Plato argues that we all get the government we deserve. That is, the political leaders of any given people are a direct reflection of what those people hold dear. Does a society think riches are the defining characteristic … [Read more...]
A Recurring Problem at Georgetown University
May 14, 2016 by David Vincent Meconi
As a member of the Society of Jesus, it was embarrassing. As a member of the Society of Jesus, it was distressing, to say the least. It was right there in all the papers: life had become cheap—very cheap—happening at one of the first ins … [Read more...]
The Slumber of Holy Saturday
April 14, 2016 by David Vincent Meconi
Holy Saturday has come and gone, but is it not the symbolic day of our Faith on earth? In the 70s, a popular mantra arose that we are an “Easter people.” Yet the abuses continue, dissent is institutionally maintained, the wicked go unc … [Read more...]
The Pillars of Lent
February 1, 2016 by David Vincent Meconi
The purifying Season of Lent is quickly upon us. We human persons are enabled to do something that lower creatures cannot, and higher creatures need not: to sacrifice and thus to learn to delay partial gratifications for even greater … [Read more...]
About The “Year of Mercy”
December 8, 2015 - November 20, 2016
December 14, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
Pope Francis has declared the period between the recent Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 2015) until the Feast of Christ the King (November 20, 2016), the "Year of Mercy." Rooting the Church’s renewed focus on Divine Mercy in … [Read more...]
The Synod’s End and an Advent Prayer Time for the Church
November 16, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
Pope Francis During Extraordinary Synod of Bishops; Advent wreath. The Synod on the Family, called by Pope Francis to address: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world,” has come to a close. There ha … [Read more...]
What a Catholic Education Owes Its Students
August 30, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
As our students—big and small—begin to return to school, it is good to be reminded of what a truly Catholic education owes its students. For most of human history, education was a private affair between (usually) a young boy and his tutor. I … [Read more...]
July Editorial: Interview with Dr. Janet Smith of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit
July 27, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
Fr. Meconi: It is an honor to be with you. Your reflections on the beauty of Humanae Vitae, and the Church’s incessant teaching on the divine will for married love, have helped many come to see what Christian marriage really means. R … [Read more...]
Laudato? Si!
June 27, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
The Holy Father’s recent encyclical on the Christian care of the environment deserves to be read by all the faithful. He takes its name from his beloved Francis of Assisi’s "Canticle," Laudato Si, “Let him be praised.” For too long, the Magi … [Read more...]
On the Gift of Laughter
May 31, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
One of the oldest jokes for which we have evidence goes something like this: A slave owner returns to the man who had just sold him his most recent purchase. “That slave you sold me last week just died.” The man who sold him replied: “Hey, … [Read more...]
Dante, the World’s Second Greatest Poet
April 27, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
Sometime this month back in 1265, exactly 750 years ago, the World’s Second Greatest Poet was born in Florence, Dante Alighieri. Not many realize that Popes Benedict XV and Paul VI issued official Vatican statements lauding Dante for the u … [Read more...]
My Ways or Your Ways?
March 30, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
What do ISIS, the Chinese government, and many Catholics have in common? It begins like a bad joke, I know, but none of them allows Christ’s Church to carry out her mission fully. Reading the papers these past few weeks only confirms a c … [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...]
The Holy Land
January 29, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
Spending the Christmas season in the Holy Land has made me much more sensitive to how communities are “ringing in” the New Year. As the date turned from 2014 to 2015, two very different calls for solidarity made the news. On the one hand, J … [Read more...]
Recent Comments