Does Jesus Matter?
In 1971, Frank Sheed published a book entitled What Difference Does Jesus Make? In chapter one, “The Dimming of Christ,” he writes, “Christ is in eclipse for many Christians in many Churches.” He then goes on to say, “I was...
Tagged: conversion
A Pope for All People
Pope Francis welcomed actress and activist Whoopi Goldberg to a private audience recently, and he told her she was “really important.” I used to have a really hard time with news stories like this one. The pre-COVID, self-righteous version of...
What Scott Hahn’s public support for Bishop Strickland signifies
This week, someone sent me a link to Scott Hahn’s Facebook page, where the prominent Catholic professor, author, and speaker shared Bishop Joseph Strickland’s latest pastoral letter, writing, “I am grateful for Bishop Strickland’s inspiring words.” Later, another reader mentioned...
I No Longer Call You Servant
I work with homeless and at-risk youth. I’ve been doing it for 42 years, the first few decades in or around New York City but for the last 20 years in Vermont. I’m an executive director, a role which entails...
When evangelizers proselytize: Ivereigh responds to Bishop Barron
Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire has taken the trouble to respond to my Commonweal article on World Youth Day in Lisbon, which we were both at, in order to dispel my “confusions” over the distinction between evangelization and...
The hellstrip or the fertile soil
A reflection on the readings for July 16, 2023, the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time While browsing the paper online this past week, I was introduced to the somewhat arresting term “hellstrip” in an article from gardener and writer Tovah...
My Lenten Call
Lent invites us to conversion, and the call to conversation can be painful. Worse, it can be embarrassing, especially when it comes from an unlikely source. I’ve recently experienced this myself, regarding a vice I barely even knew I had,...
Searching for the true star
Reflection on the readings of January 8, 2023 — The Epiphany of the Lord It seems that everyone is searching for a way to become a star. With the internet and social media, everyone can have a public platform. Twitter,...
Reconciliation, Renewal, and Rebirth
Advent is a time of preparation, a time of celebration, and a time of reflection. If our minds and hearts are truly focused on the season as a time of preparation for the birth of Christ, then we must enter...
On Metanoia and Grace
In 1989, a youth minister named Janie Tinklenberg read a book authored by Topeka minister Charles M. Sheldon entitled In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? In the book, Sheldon challenged his readers to consider how Jesus would respond when...
Let’s Not Canonize Shia Just Yet
Much has been made in recent weeks of actor Shia LaBeouf’s reported conversion to Roman Catholicism. To label Mr. LeBeouf, who was reared in a household he has characterized as “hippie Jewish,” a true convert to the ways of the...
The challenges of celebrity conversions
In our increasingly secular world, one would not expect a religious conversion to necessarily be breaking news. Yet when actor Shia LaBeouf shared in an interview with Bishop Robert Barron that he had decided to enter the Catholic Church after...
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