Ten years ago, Pope Francis wrote the first environmental encyclical letter in the history of the Catholic Church. As he was writing it, so many of us who were, and still are, concerned about the sickening state of our wonderful...
Today those of us in the United States celebrate the feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, who was the first Native American to be declared a saint and is the patroness of the environment and ecology (in Canada, her feast...
Jean de Florette is my favorite film of all time. Two films really, with its powerful sequel Manon des Sources where Jean’s daughter seeks revenge on the villagers who drove the ‘outsider’ to his early death by depriving his farm...
Earth Day (April 22) is an excellent reminder for Catholics to reflect on Pope Francis’ famous environmental encyclical letter “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home”. Citing Francis of Assisi – patron saint of ecology – Pope Francis writes...
Deck the halls with boughs of holly! It is getting to be that time of year again: a time full of joyous songs that celebrate Jesus’s birthday and presents to be unwrapped. But have you ever considered what happens to...
At a funeral a few years back, the family wanted me to share something the deceased man wrote. His name was Dennis. I would like begin my reflection with his words: “It is good to slow down and see the...
Today Pope Francis has published his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum, a sequel of sorts to 2015’s encyclical Laudato Si’, focusing more narrowly on the issue of climate change. Given the rapid worsening of the problem since 2015, it was a given that Laudate Deum would be...
Catholicism has always considered creation to be the place of God’s saving activity, but the Church’s eschatological vision has often focused on an otherworldly destiny that forgets the importance of this world. This otherworldly escapism still lingers in some Christian...
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s election to the pontificate, we are remembering some of our favorite teaching moments from the past decade. Mike Lewis “Everyone is in need of reassurance, and if we, who have touched ‘the...
Among the Argentine bishops who knows Pope Francis best is Oscar Vicente Ojea, who was appointed by the then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as his auxiliary in the archdiocese of Buenos Aires in 2006. These days he is Bishop of...
A reflection on the readings for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time – August 7, 2022. On August 3rd, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke about the energy crisis in the world and the harm it is causing to our...
In the past, the Catholic Church could count on its tradition being passed on from generation to generation. Today, fewer and fewer young people will continue to identify as Catholic even if they were raised in a Catholic family or...
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