In this first episode of 2025, I talked with my good friend and mentor, Monica Pope, about hope. We began by talking about the role of the catechist before launching into a catechesis about hope in light of the theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope.” All of that set up...
The subjective foundation of Peace is a new spirit which must animate coexistence between peoples, a new outlook on man, his duties and his destiny. Much progress must still be made to render this outlook universal and effective; a new training must educate the new generations to reciprocal respect between nations, to brotherhood...
Recently I encountered a woman who said to me that many people have left the Church as a direct result of the news of the unmarked graves on the property of the old Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia — including her husband. Of course, there is no denying that the residential school...
“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 parents’ tent; his twin brother, Ali, who was taken for dead, is fighting...
Today these prophetic words have been fulfilled! In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth do indeed meet; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from heaven (…) Here we see the power of faith! God has done everything;...
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 a new, subterranean divinity. There is nothing more absolute than denying the possibility...
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 Catholic Fraternal Organization. The effect was tasteful, if a bit rococo. Continuing to...
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.) Veni, Adonai! Come, O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:...
In this episode, I spoke with Natalie Pucillo. She recently wrote a couple of articles about her visit to Rome during the final meeting of the Synod on Synodality. Her reflections were so good, capturing both the harm and the hope she experienced. So asked if she would be on the podcast to...
As a husband of 34-plus years, I know what it’s like to come home after the end of a workday or picking up the kids from school and having news to share with my wife. Sometimes it’s good news, sometimes not so much… I mention this because the last words spoken by Elizabeth...
Catholics are human beings like everyone else. Among Catholics there is every degree of good and evil—just as, conversely, in all religions there are men of interior purity who through their myths somehow touch the great mystery and find the right way of being human. I think that we shouldn’t try to calculate...
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 first installment, I encourage everyone to listen to the spoken version that...
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