At the height of my struggles with scrupulosity and self-accusation, my dad often attempted to console me by telling me that I wasn’t as bad as I thought—after all, I was “not killing anybody.” This was a thoughtful gesture, but looking back, it was theologically incorrect. One only needs to turn to the...
Six weeks ago Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter called “Traditionis Custodes” (“Guardians of the Tradition”). When I heard the news and read the letter, my first thought was, “thank God.” In this essay, I want to explain why, and suggest several points for moving forward. The letter had little impact on the majority...
Reuters recently reported that some Israeli rabbis had written the Vatican to express their “distress” about one line from Pope Francis’s recent addresses on Galatians: “The Law, however, does not give life.” According to Reuters, the rabbis worry that this expresses a belief even worse than supersessionism: “In his homily, the pope presents...
[Editor’s note: We are pleased to introduce a new weekly feature in collaboration with CatholicsRead, a free, email-based opportunity for Catholics to learn about the best and newest in Catholic publishing on a weekly basis. Titles range from children’s books to professional ministry resources and everything in between. CatholicsRead is powered by the...
In case you missed it, here is the replay of this afternoon’s extremely helpful live panel discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine from a Catholic perspective, moderated by New York Times best-selling author and Catholic speaker Jeannie Gaffigan. To read why Jeannie was inspired to bring this panel together and to learn about the panelists,...
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well” (Rom...
Last week, the Salvadoran bishops announced that four martyrs from El Salvador—two priests and two laymen—will be beatified on January 22 next year in the San Salvador Cathedral: Jesuit Fr. Rutilio Grande, Franciscan Fr. Cosme Spessotto, 70-year-old sacristan Manuel Solórzano, and teenager Nelson Rutilio Lemus. English-speaking audiences might be most familiar with Fr....
A reflection on the readings for Sunday, August 29, 2021 — The Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Today’s first reading depicts Moses introducing the laws he is about to teach the Israelites. The commandments God has given allow them to live and will give them a reputation for being wise and discerning (Deut 4:6)....
Years ago, my pastor took a group of men from my parish on a pilgrimage down to Mexico City, to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac Hill—where Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531—and to see the tilma (cloak) on which Mary miraculously left her image as...
“Divinely instituted, the Church has the promises of the assistance of Christ until the end of time. The breaking of its unity by an act of grievous disobedience on your part would cause incalculable damage and would destroy the future of your work itself, since outside of unity with Peter it would have...
Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19. Last week, Pope Francis headlined an Ad Council public service announcement for the coronavirus vaccine, titled “Unity Across the Americas.” Designed specifically with Hispanic populations in mind, the pope and bishops spoke in Spanish...
Update: The panel has concluded. Click here to watch the video. [Editor’s Note: Mark your calendars — “Vaccination is a Life Issue,” Tuesday, August 31, at 12 noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT). Free and open to the public. Sponsored by LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality. Click HERE for event and streaming information] I have...
Popular Posts