Fr. Luigi Giussani dedicates the second section of his book Is it Possible to Live This Way? Vol. 3 to the value of sacrifice, which he claims is a “necessary condition for men to reach their destiny.” If all persons are destined to happiness, and happiness is fully realized when the person affirms Christ as the ultimate meaning of her life, then this path implies that she sacrifice her own will for the sake of Christ. Christ sets the example… Read more
December 26, 2019
Giussani on St. Stephen: Martyrdom as Affection for Christ
December 26, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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December 16, 2019
Keep Christ in Christmas? Instead, Seek Christ in Christmas
December 16, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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Rather than fighting to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” I realized how much I need to “Seek Christ in Christmas.” Since I was little, I couldn’t wait until after Thanksgiving to start setting up the Christmas tree and lights, to play Christmas music and to buy presents at the school’s Holiday shop. I remember rolling around in bed on Christmas morning, unable to sleep, anxiously waiting to see if Santa ate the cookies I left out, and to unwrap the gifts… Read more
December 8, 2019
Modern Mercy at the Cloisters, Cabrini Shrine
December 8, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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I decided to introduce our school field trip to the Cabrini Shrine and the Met Cloisters with the following message: “Most people today live as if the things we do, objects we use, and people we meet are mere cogs in a machine. Daily life becomes more robotic than beautiful, as we chase after the passing ideals of efficiency, pleasure, and success. The sites we are going to see represent an ‘enchanted’ worldview, in which every person, thing, and event… Read more
November 30, 2019
Martyrdom is Impossible: The Pope in Japan and Silence
November 30, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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The Pope’s Apostolic visit to Japan, a land soaked with the blood of Christian martyrs, occurred just a matter of days after the Church’s liturgy presented us with one of the most ancient stories of martyrdom in the name of Abraham’s God. Second Maccabees tells the story of a mother and her seven sons who willingly chose death rather than profane the name of their God by eating pork. Many Christians in Japan during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries faced… Read more
October 15, 2019
Death, Orgasms, and Ecstasy: On Teresa of Avila
October 15, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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Pope Benedict XVI offers an interesting commentary on the path of motion of charity, or agape, as metabasis—“departure” from oneself. “Love is the very process of passing over, of transformation, of stepping outside the limitations of fallen humanity—in which we are all separated from one another and ultimately impenetrable to one another—into an infinite otherness. ‘Love to the end’ is what brings about the seemingly impossible metabasis: stepping outside the limits of one’s closed individuality, which is what agape is—breaking… Read more
October 1, 2019
Blessed are the Spoiled Brats: the Witness of Therese
October 1, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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Entering into young adulthood is a process fraught with confusion, frustration, and constant reminders of one’s own inadequacy. This process is intensified for us millennials who grew up with a sense of entitlement, and especially so for only-children. The rude awakening of having to take responsibility for my own career path and life decisions stripped me naked. The illusion that mommy and daddy would figure it all out for me wore off when I got my first full-time job, in… Read more
September 21, 2019
A Revolution of Neighborliness: An Interview with DL Mayfield
September 21, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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I met Danielle (DL) Mayfield last year when she spoke on a panel about serving others without taking on a “savior complex.” She shared her experience of aspiring to become an evangelical missionary as a teen, and how her encounters with her immigrant neighbors challenged her understanding of what it means to share the Gospel with others. I was particularly moved by how she spoke about the need for neighborliness in an increasingly individualistic culture. I asked Danielle to answer… Read more
September 9, 2019
Knowing the Poor by Name: Chris Arnade’s Dignity
September 9, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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I’ve been serving food weekly outside a homeless shelter in midtown Manhattan for the last three months. During my most recent visit, Wanda, one of the regulars, asked me for one of the rosaries lying on the table next to the food and drinks. “You’re going to use that pray for me, right?” “Why do you think I’m taking it? Of course! I gotta pray for you.” Over the last few weeks, Wanda and I have been sharing more and… Read more
September 4, 2019
Did Harry Potter Make Me a Witch?
September 4, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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So since people are up in arms over this Harry Potter debacle…and seeing as I’m an ex-Potterhead, I thought I’d weigh in. I’ll start by saying that I got involved in witchcraft and occult practices after reading Harry Potter when I was about 10 years old. That being said, I’m not the kind of Catholic that thinks that readings stories about witches and spells is intrinsically evil, and that Harry Potter should be forbidden. But I definitely don’t think that… Read more
August 29, 2019
College Orientation and the Long Loneliness
August 29, 2019 By Stephen G. Adubato
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“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” Why do we often feel so lonely…even when surrounded by groups of people, whether physically or digitally? I find that even when I’m hanging out with people who care about me, when we’re having a good time enjoying each other’s company, that loneliness creeps in. Even when I receive those little dopamine inducing digital indications of approval… Read more
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