Politics: A Poem The time is now, time to fight: We are on the side of the right, We go forward with all our might. For we know we are with the good, Evil alone is their only brood, This is what must be understood. Ignore their chattering spin, Seeking to make you dizzy again. Following them is mortal sin. Dismiss all doubts of our plan, Remember who they ran! That devious gaulin man. Now at last it is the... Read more
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31a RSV). When God brought the world into existence he opened himself up to it so that it could participate in his supra-essential being. All that exists, as it exists in God, is good. That which is very good is completely open to God’s grace, so that it not only fulfills the natural good given to it, but transcends it by that grace. Creation was... Read more
Coming soon to a theater near you is the film adaptation to Shusaku Endo’s novel, Silence. It is a modern classic of Japanese literature dealing with the history of Christian missions to Japan. It is not my favorite novel of Endo’s (The Samurai currently takes that place), but it is a significant novel which reflects not only the conflicts between the West and the East in 17th century Japan, but also the internal conflicts which Endo lived throughout his life... Read more
Thank you pro-lifers who convinced so many Christians that the only choice they had for president was Donald Trump. You keep demonstrating how you are anything but pro-life when you turn away and ignore all the evil which is done by those who claim to be pro-life. It is as if a few choice words and the use of a label for oneself is all that matters to you. Being pro-life is not a label, it is about an ethos.... Read more
Abba Anthony said, “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, ‘You are mad, you are not like us.'”[1] At first glance, this appears to be a rather peculiar declaration by St. Anthony. In the saying itself, we have no context as to what kind of madness he believed was coming, and so we do not know who would be falsely accused as to being... Read more
Recently, there has been some controversy over Pope Francis’ desire for the Catholic Church to better deal with the pastoral needs of divorced and remarried Catholics. Some, including a few Cardinals, seem to think his actions goes against Catholic teaching, and that he would end up encouraging people living in mortal sin to receive communion. They have the false belief that being divorced and remarried automatically bars anyone from communion, that it always has been a detriment to communion, and... Read more
There is a reason for everything. Every act brings about an effect. The potential used in an act is given over to the effect, which might be, and often will be, different from what was intended. For ignorance of the world and how things work in the world leads people to act contrary to their own benefit; they seek after and follow what seems to be the easy way to meet their desire, but as easy as their desire was... Read more
A hunter in the desert saw Abba Anthony enjoying himself with the brethren and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brethren, the old man said to him, “Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.” So he did. The old man then said, “Shoot another,” and he did so. Then the old man said, ‘Shoot yet again,” and the hunter replied “If I bend my bow so... Read more
Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all who are left desolate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, maintain the rights of the poor and needy (Prov. 31:8-9 RSV). Christians are called not only to protect but to elevate through whatever political power and authority they possess those who have no political power to defend themselves from injustice. This includes but must be limited to the poor, the stranger who seems different from the community they have entered... Read more
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. Then he says, `I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So... Read more
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