This morning, as he delivered his Sunday Angelus message, the pope talked about rediscovering the beauty of Baptism, “being born again from above, from the love of God, and live as a child of God.” In response/at the same time feminists, protesters took off their tops to insist “he shut up his mouth,” for “in gay we trust.” Someone had a constructive and powerful message Sunday. Unfortunately, the other message is the one that makes world headlines. Which is but... Read more
From Blessed John Paul II at World Youth Day in Manila in 1995: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). Jesus, sent by the Father to mankind, communicates the abundance of life to every believer (cf. Jn 10:10), as we reflected and proclaimed on the occasion of the recent Day in Denver. His Gospel must become “communication” and mission. The missionary vocation summons every Christian; it becomes the very essence of every testimony of... Read more
From George Weigel again in his book Practicing Catholic: The false humanism of freedom misconstrued as “I did it my way” inevitably leads to freedom’s decay, and then to freedom’s self-cannibalization. Read more
George Weigel writes in his book Practicing Catholic: Despite her political myopia about the likes of Fidel Castro, the Catholic radicalism of Dorothy Day was far more Catholic in its sense of the drama of sin and grace than the vapid liberalism that dominated the post-Vatican II Church. Dorothy Day is all too often misunderstood and the depths of her faith are not fully appreciated by us today. That ought to change. It may. It’s a dangerous thing when politics... Read more
What God wants most of all for each one of you is that you should become holy. He loves you much more than you could ever begin to imagine, and he wants the very best for you. And by far the best thing for you is to grow in holiness. — B16 in England, 2010 Read more
It seems like a good end-of-day question. The sort that directs the mind and works to renew the soul. Did I instruct? Did I advise? Did I console? Did I comfort? Did I forgive? Did I bear wrong patiently? Did I feed the hungry? Did I shelter the homeless? Did I cloth the naked? Did I visit the sick and imprisoned? Did I bury the dead? Did I even think of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy? Do I... Read more
From an interview piece with the former mayor of New York: Koch was “heartbroken,” he says, and even suffered a minor stroke, after it transpired in the middle of his third term that several of his close political allies were involved in graft, extortion and bribery. His friend, Queens Borough President Donald Manes, was implicated and pursued by Giuliani, then the U.S. attorney, and ended up committing suicide in a particularly grisly fashion, plunging a kitchen knife into his own... Read more
Our hearts are restless. Can it be denied? It’s the reason we look every which way for satisfaction. It’s the reason we’re always aching for something more. It’s dramatic, it’s painful, and it can be the greatest joy there is. And it’s not a one-way street. “Not only are we restless for God: God’s heart is restless for us,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his Epiphany homily last year. “God is waiting for us. He is looking for us. He... Read more
“It is said that one night when Havel went off to bed, he discovered it was missing.” His, wife, you see, had given their bed to someone who didn’t have one. It’s from a young Dominican’s write-up on Zdislava Berka — wife, mother, saint. We’re not all giving up our beds tonight, but such radical examples do remind us of what little many of us do and how much more we can to help improve the lives of our neighbors.... Read more
Even in the media? My friends Kim Daniels and Scot Landry talk about being better Christian communicators, being better Christians, on Scot’s Boston-based radio show, The Good Catholic Life. Both media and controversy can be opportunities to make the case for the Catholic Church in the public square. And sometimes the public square means your own family dinner table! You can listen to their conversation here: <iframe width=”320″ height=”24″ src=”http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/?powerpress_embed=1290-podcast&powerpress_player=default” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe> And if you live in New England, you... Read more
Kathryn Lopez
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