There is a saying that I often ponder: “Tell me what you love, and I will tell you who you are.” This is very close to Jesus’ statement, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6, 19) When we love someone or something, we can’t avoid thinking about them....
In the past few days, Catholic priests and bishops have been delivering a chorus of condemnation against the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. The response to the Last Supper/Feast of Dionysus debacle has highlighted a significant trend I’ve observed in recent years regarding the Catholic Church and its clergy: the erosion of their moral...
Yesterday brought news of the resignation of Fr. Barry Stechschulte as pastor of St. Susanna’s Church in Mason, Ohio, in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The priest resigned following mounting pressure after it was revealed that in 2012 — shortly after he became pastor of Holy Rosary Church in St. Mary’s, Ohio — he...
Everyone not only has the freedom, the right, but also the obligation, to say what they think in order to promote the common good. The obligation (…) We have the obligation to speak openly, to enjoy this freedom, but without offending others (…) We cannot provoke others, we cannot insult their faith, we...
Last week I came across an article in my inbox, written by two respected scholars of religion and social science, Dr. Stephen Bullivant and Dr. Stephen Cranney. Bullivant is a Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion and serves as the director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society, a...
In recent days, there has been more troubling news regarding the nuns of the Arlington Carmelite Monastery. In a statement to the Diocese of Fort Worth, dated July 18, 2023 and posted on the diocesan website, Bishop Michael F. Olson shared that he was recently informed by Mother Marie of the Incarnation, OCD...
In his address on the opening night of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the US, reminded attendees that the “Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful.” “What a...
In Sunday’s second reading, St. Paul speaks of Jesus breaking down the dividing wall of enmity in order to create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace. The commentaries on this reading explain that the reconciliation Paul is writing about is between the Jews and the Gentiles,...
[Editor’s Note/Preface: When Pope Francis promulgated his July 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which placed new restrictions on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II 1962 Roman liturgy, he sent an accompanying letter to the bishops of the world explaining his reasons for doing so. In the letter he refers to the results of...
[W]here joylessness reigns, where humour dies, the spirit of Jesus Christ is assuredly absent. But the reverse is also true: joy is a sign of grace. One who is cheerful from the heart … cannot be far from the God of the evangelium, whose first word on the threshold of the New Testament...
There is a popular story that I’ve seen on the internet, shared by email and posted on blogs and social media. It’s a story that speaks about practicing what one preaches. I am not sure whether it is factual or not, but it will help us to understand as we reflect on Sunday’s...
The deep grief that many people experience due to environmental devastation—grief not just for “the planet” in the abstract but for ourselves and the people and places we love—is an object of wide discussion these days, at least among people not inclined to deny or minimize the problem. (That isn’t to say that...
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