There has been a tremendous amount of commentary surrounding The Gospel of Joy, Pope Francis’s recent apostolic exhortation, which was his feedback to the Synod on the New Evangelization Pope Benedict convened last year to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the Year of Faith. Now that everyone seems to have commented on the commentary, Time magazine naming Pope Francis Man of the Year provides us an opportunity to reset the conversation a... Read more
Even as we buy Christmas gifts, the light of faith, the reason for the season, the Incarnation and its transformative power in our lives, can be obscured. What if we are suffering? What if we are anxious? What if we are confused and frustrated? What if hope seems foreign? What do you do When Faith Feels Fragile? That’s the title of a new book addressing the question in the most practical of ways. Fr. R. Scott Hurd, a Catholic priest... Read more
From a homily: The truth is that the Lord knows every one of us that intimately before he forms us in the womb. We can all exclaim with the words of today’s Psalm, “Truly you have formed by inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb!” None of us is a number, a census statistic, to God. Just like John the Baptist had a vocation and a mission from before he was born, each of us is formed by... Read more
This is a contender for Correction of the Year: In its Person of the Year online poll presentation, Time magazine initially described the case for Pope Francis as: “The first Jesuit Pontiff won hearts and headlines with his common touch and rejection of church dogma and luxury.” Rejection of Church dogma? It has since been amended with this note: “An earlier version of this post suggested that Pope Francis rejected some church dogma. He does not.” If Pope Francis turns out... Read more
Here’s a timely quote I just came across while moving piles on my desk, from John Allen’s 2012 book-length interview with Cardinal Dolan; in A People of Hope, Dolan said: “Catholicism will always have its progressive wing and its more traditional wing, and as long as we stay together on the core principles of the faith, I think that diversity is a very healthy thing. We need people pointing the way forward, just as we need people to remind us... Read more
Teresa Tomeo is a former Detroit news anchor and currently a radio talk-show host. She is the author of the new book from Image Catholic, a division of Random House titled God’s Bucket List: Heaven’s Surefire Way to Happiness in This Life and Beyond. Surefire happiness? She talks a bit with me about the recipe for a real Christian life. KJL: What does heaven have to do with happiness other than a nice thought to help you get through... Read more
So let’s try this again. How many of us who have commented on “The Gospel of Joy” have read it all the way through, never mind let it settle in for reflection? George Weigel sets a nice “Black Friday” reboot in the Wall Street Journal today: The first nine months of the pontificate of Pope Francis have often resembled a gigantic Rorschach test in which various commentators inside and outside the Catholic Church have “seen” their dreams and fears realized. Alas, what... Read more
In his homily Friday morning Pope Francis said: the spirit of the world does not want a community: it wants a mob, thoughtless, without freedom According to the Vatican Radio translation, he advised: The Lord wants us to understand what happens, what happens in my heart, what happens in my life, what happens in the world, in history… What is the meaning of what is happening now? These are the signs of the times! More: While the spirit of the... Read more
has been an Evangelical Catholicism kinda day. Read more
Encounter with person of Christ lifts up the human person, it illuminates his dignity and transforms him, making it necessary for him to share this good news — this joy — this countercultural revolutionary tenderness and mercy, grace and salvation. Understanding this is understanding Evangelii Gaudium, the new document from Pope Francis. The Huffington Post might highlight his critiques of unfettered capitalism (not a new papal position) and I might highlight his noting that Church teaching won’t change on abortion. If either... Read more
Kathryn Lopez
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