On the night he was betrayed, the rabbi from Nazareth gave blunt, by mysterious, instructions about the rite that would forever be at the center of Christian life. The Gospel of St. Luke reports: "He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." These images mystified the faith's Roman … [Read more...]
Pope Benedict XVI exits, on his own terms
February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
In the spring of 2009, Pope Benedict XVI stopped in Aquila, Italy, to pray at the shrine of St. Celestine V. The pope left his pallium -- a wool garment that resembles a yoke, symbolizing bonds between a shepherd and his flock — on this medieval pope’s tomb, noted theologian Scott Hahn of Franciscan University of Steubenville. Then, 15 months later, he visited a cathedral outside Rome to pray before the relics, once again, of St. Celestine V. Few noticed Benedict’s actions at the … [Read more...]
Anglicans swimming the Tiber, a one-year report
February 12, 2013 By 1 Comment
It's natural for any employee to want to know just how committed the big boss is to the company's future and, especially, to the expansion project that includes his job. So, even though Pope Benedict XVI didn't make it to America in person, Father Jason Catania still appreciated the message he sent to the former Episcopal priests and others who swam the Tiber to Rome after the pontiff's controversial "Anglicanorum Coetibus ("groups of Anglicans") pronouncement in 2009. "We didn't just wake … [Read more...]
Woodstock sinks into sexual ethics in America
February 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Back in 1969, the same year as Woodstock, Gallup Poll researchers asked Americans this moral question: "Do you think it is wrong for a man and a woman to have sexual relations before marriage, or not?" "Yes, wrong," responded 68 percent of those polled, while 21 percent said, "No, not wrong." By 1973, the traditionalist camp affirming that premarital sex was wrong was down to 47 percent and the minority of those disagreeing rose to 43 percent. In 1991, only 40 percent considered premarital … [Read more...]
Words pastors fear saying to their flocks, part 2
February 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Week after week, year after year, ministers rise to preach knowing their flocks expect them to deliver messages that are truly inspired by God or, at the very least, somewhat uplifting. After years facing United Methodist congregations in the Bible Belt, the Rev. Harold Bales had an epiphany about this duty -- although some might consider his candid vision a kind of ecclesiastical nightmare. Imagine what would happen if a pastor stepped into the pulpit and said something like the … [Read more...]
Words pastors fear saying to their flocks, part 1
January 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The powers that be in professional sports know that it’s easier to fire embattled coaches than to push powerful athletes out the door. Pastors know that the same pattern usually holds true when push comes to shove in religious sanctuaries. The sad result is often a vicious cycle of fear, stress, doubt, despair, workaholism, frustration and fatalism. In his book “Counseling Christian Workers,” the late Dr. Louis McBurney — a Mayo Clinic trained psychiatrist known for helping … [Read more...]
Columbine, Newtown and our culture of death
December 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Blame it on the guns. No, blame the judges who banned Godtalk in schools, along with most lessons about right and wrong. No, our lousy national mental health care system caused this hellish bloodbath. No, the problem is the decay of American families, with workaholic parents chained to their desks while their children grow up in suburban cocoons with too much time on their hands. No, it's Hollywood's fault. How can children tell the difference between fantasy and reality when they've been … [Read more...]
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