The Pope in the Hospital: A Lesson in Hope
The key words here are “patience” and “hope”— Christian virtues, no doubt.
Category: Reflection
A Parable on Immigration
Several years ago, Pope Francis approved the Instruction promulgated by the Dicastery for Consecrated Life called Cor orans. This document laid out precise directions for the updating of the life of contemplative nuns. One of the most startling directions was...
A Tale of Two Converts
On June 9, 1918, in a Denver chapel, thousands of people filed silently past the body of the first American Catholic laywoman ever granted the privilege of lying in state. This extraordinary woman was not a member of the city’s...
A Moment of Remembrance
“I tried to shake him awake, but there was nothing. The child was stiff, blue, dark blue in color from the cold.” I read today in the New York Times of how Jumaa al-Batran, three weeks old, died of hypothermia overnight in his...
Christmas and the Philosophers
It is not easy to be an atheist during Christmas. Atheism demands seriousness: if God does not exist, one must be consistent. However, the experience of living without dependence on a Creator Being—a defining characteristic of atheism—often gives rise to...
The Crèche
Last night, as I was walking on the Green in my home city, I stopped by the crèche – nestled on the rough equivalent of half a parking space ceded by the city, installed (and funded) by my hometown multinational men’s...
Reflection The Golden Nights of the O Antiphons, Part III
This final section of the O Antiphon literary meditation is the true destination, where the joy and hope are realized and the most beautiful citations from the saints are to be found. (Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.)...
The Golden Nights of the O Antiphons, Part II
The first installment of this literary meditation was posted on Tuesday; this second installment deals thematically with art and beauty, and with their true power. The conclusion, with its promised light and joy, will follow soon. As was the case with...
The Golden Nights of the O Antiphons, Part I
[Author’s note: This piece explores, through the lens of my own experience, humanity’s need for salvation, with all our impulse to creativity and self-determining possibility for good or for ill. The piece requires patience, as it is not until the...
Non Serviam and the Aftermath
Last month I traveled to Baltimore to cover the USCCB’s Fall Plenary Assembly. There were some worthwhile speeches and discussions at the meeting, as well as some interesting results in a couple of elections for new committee chairmen. For an...
A Rainbow, an Arbiter of Peace — Sancta et Immaculata
Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a dogma the full implications of which are perhaps too little considered. From the first moment I heard it sung, I fell in love with the medieval chant Sancta et Immaculata, “Holy and Spotless...
What Faithful Catholics can learn from Ex-Scientologists
[Updated with a response from the Church of Scientology at the end. — ML] A couple of days ago, the Hollywood actress and former King of Queens star Leah Remini posted an image to her Instagram account. View this post...
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