How are people chosen to lead catechesis? Too often it is an appointment made without much forethought and typically a knee-jerk response by the parish priest when he realizes the First Holy Communion program is beginning shortly and he’s struggling to find anybody to lead the sessions. So he might grab a “volunteer”...
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” We say these words at every Mass, conscious of our smallness before the greatness of God in the Sacrament of his Love. At the same time, much of our current conversation about “Eucharistic coherence” when it comes to the reception of...
The Camino route junction where pilgrims walking to Compostela from France meet those coming from the east in Spain on the Camino Aragonés is at Obanos, after which they all mix together in the hostel dormitories of Puente la Reina. The pilgrimage Holy Year will attract large numbers and the Covid restrictions on...
Tonight, D.W. Lafferty will be speaking with Brett Salkeld, Archdiocesan Theologian for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina. We’re going to discuss some of the philosophical and theological problems with conspiracy theory, as well as how Catholic creationism can function as a conspiracy theory in itself. Sources: “Faith, Reason, and Conspiracy Theories” by...
A reflection on the readings for Sunday, May 23, 2021 — the Feast of Pentecost. Preach always, use words when necessary.” These are perhaps the most famous words of St. Francis of Assisi—or so we are told. I have always had a complicated relationship with the oft-repeated words of that famous pseudo-quote. On...
Readers of Where Peter Is are probably aware by now of the controversies surrounding the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which is currently considering putting into place a national policy on the reception of communion by political figures whose ideological commitments advocate intrinsic evils. The obvious target of this policy is...
“Marriage is not merely a ‘social’ event but a true Sacrament that entails an appropriate preparation and an informed celebration. The marriage bond, in fact, requires the engaged couple to make a conscious choice that confirms their willingness to build up and strengthen the bond that can never be betrayed or abandoned.” (scroll...
One of the most formative events of my life happened a year before I was born. When she was about six weeks old, my sister Katie—my parents’ firstborn, the answer to prayer after years of infertility—was found to have a ventricular septal defect (or as we always called it, “a hole in her...
In 1990, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical on the Church’s missionary mandate entitled Redemptoris Missio, in which he called for a renewed and wholehearted commitment of Christians to missionary activity. Convinced of the urgency of missionary activity, he wrote: God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more...
Rachel Amiri is joined by David Lafferty and Daniel Amiri on this week’s episode to recap recent papal comments on peacemaking and discuss the appearance of a “virtual synod” of bishops in US Catholic media. Streaming right here or on YouTube and our Facebook page at 8PM Eastern / 5PM Pacific.
Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront approaches the zenith of American cinema. Winner of all the principal Academy Awards in its day, it remains worth watching whether one wants to witness Hollywood great Marlon Brando at his peak or wants simply to satisfy a craving for a good crime thriller. In the character of...
I found comfort in this. From today’s general audience… Pope Francis discusses what we must do when we find it difficult to pray. One must learn to go forward always. True progress in the spiritual life does not consist in multiplying ecstasies, but in being able to persevere in difficult times: walk, walk,...
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