Some of the less charitable news stories emphasize Jeffrey Hillman, the homeless man who Office Lawrence DePrimo bought boots for, wanting “a piece of” the notoriety the shoe-buying incident has brought the officer. But you can appreciate the man is in an awkward spot, in this media culture we live in. And the whole incident is just, again, a reminder not just that looking away doesn’t cut it in the Christian life but neither does praising or feeling good about... Read more
Then live Advent. “Advent is a discipline: a way of forming anticipation and channeling it toward its goal,” Joseph Bottum writes in his beautiful new book, The Christmas Plains. “Nothing we do can earn us the gift of Christmas, any more than Lent wins us Easter. But a season of contrition and sacrifice prepares us to understand and feel something about just how great the gift is when at last the day itself arrives,” he observes. By not fully embracing... Read more
Here. Not heavy theology. But good tips toward making these next weeks more than stressing about Christmas gifts and arrangements. Read more
Magnifcat had a tough meditation on Saturday — one that at the same time is remarkably consoling. It’s from Saint Catherine of Siena and deals with sin and suffering. And mercy. From her Dialogues, it reads: I give and permit everything out of love, and they are constantly scandalized in me. Yet I patiently endure and put up with them because I loved them without their having loved me. They are always harassing me with impatience, hatred, complaints, and with... Read more
From a blog site I just stumbled upon: We might take on a spiritual project this Advent. We might challenge ourselves to see and hear some new layer in the old, precious stories that present themselves to us each year. Let us invite God to plumb our depths and challenge our resting in a place for too long. Let us put on our pilgrim garb to set out for a well-known destination but in hopes that the journey will bring... Read more
Ever since hearing this news about the New York Planned Parenthood clinics splitting away from its mother ship on account of increase-abortion-to-increase-revenue mandates that are part of the bloodstream at Planned Parenthood, I’ve been thinking of the book Unplanned by Abby Johnson. Specifically, I’ve been seeing the image of the Catholic religious sister Johnson and colleagues watched weep outside their Texas abortion clinic Johnson writes about in her book about her own exit from Planned Parenthood. I’ve seen some of... Read more
“Heartwarming” seems to be the most frequently used word to describe the image of Officer Lawrence DePrimo kneeling by an unidentified barefoot man he bought boots for on a cold night in Times Square. The tourist photo that has gone viral, is the best kind of public relations for the New York Police Department: the honest-to-goodness, man-to-man, on-the-streets, beat kind. An illustration of New York’s Finest being just that. But what’s the real takeaway? It’s not enough that we feel... Read more
The New York Times highlights the U.S. Catholic bishops’ enthusiasm to see Dorothy Day’s canonization cause move forward. And how convenient that a “conservative” cardinal — New York’s Timothy Cardinal Dolan — is leading the effort, allowing him to reach across party lines, so to speak, the Times observes. (The headline is: “In Hero of the Catholic Left, a Conservative Cardinal Sees a Saint.”) I take exception to this contention that Cardinal Dolan is a conservative. What’s the evidence? He... Read more
Is Christ our King? If the answer is truly yes — He is master and commander, there are real, radical implications for our daily lives. As Pope Benedict XVI put it Sunday: we are all called to prolong God’s saving work by converting ourselves to the Gospel, by placing ourselves with conviction in the footsteps of that King who came not to be served but to serve and to bear witness to the truth (cf Mk 10.45, Jn 18.37)…. May... Read more
“Holiness is not the luxury of a few people, but a simple duty for you and me.” — Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Read more
Kathryn Lopez
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