The Beauty of the Earth
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...
Tagged: Laudato Si
And deliver us from evil
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: An urgent call to protect God’s creation
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...
How to Have an Eco-Safe Christmas
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...
Rediscovering the Trinity as beauty
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...
“Our Own Worst Enemy”: Ten Takeaways from Laudate Deum
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...
The Eschatological Foundations of Social Justice
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...
“We must first belong to God.”
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...
Argentine Bishop reflects on 10 years of Pope Francis
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...
The Common Home of the Master
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...
Laudato Si’ calls young Catholics to help build God’s kingdom
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...
All about priorities: Why Pope Francis picked Bishop McElroy
The appointment of San Diego’s Bishop Robert McElroy to the College of Cardinals has stirred some interesting, often impassioned responses in the Catholic world. Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter described the move as “thrilling.” Christopher Altieri suggested...
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