“Thank you.” — “I’m sorry.” A simple redemption lives in those utterances. There is grace there. During the hey-day of the charismatic renewal, at prayer meetings and Lord Day’s, there was always a time of thanksgiving, usually during praise and worship. A guitar would strum a sustained chord and await prayers of thanksgiving to chime in aloud: “I want to thank you Lord for the gift of life…” “Thank you Jesus for healing my sister…” “Thank you for gathering us... Read more
Uno de los dones de ser Católico, es la tradición que nos soporta. No se tienen que inventar todas las cosas. El Año de Fe nos enfoca no solo en nuestra fe, pero también en el lugar primario y principal donde se crece, enriquece y aumenta la fe cristiana. La educación religiosa. En este espíritu educacional, pongamos atención a las palabras de la “Declaración Sobre La Educación Cristiana de la Juventud,” promulgado por el Concilio Vaticano II. Puesto que los... Read more
A few years ago, while I was in graduate school, I sang and played guitar for the contemporary services at Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna, Ohio. After being there for nearly a year, the assistant pastor introduced me to Rob Bell. He gave me a copy of Velvet Elvis and told me I could keep it if I gave him a full report. (A review. The same thing that got me to read this book.) He wanted to know what... Read more
Over the past year I’ve been writing a short book: Liturgy as Mystagogy: An Introduction to a Curriculum of Life. The sentiments motivating that project are one in the same with the memo I posted yesterday about Christmas. The governing idea is a familiar one. It echoes the directives from our most recent popes: we need to build and foster a domestic Church in our homes and families. This is at the very heart of the Year of Faith. Doing it is... Read more
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, I can hardly believe I’m writing this. It’s embarrassing really. I feel like I’m telling someone “your zipper’s down.” But it’s become clear to me that it needs to be said. Please, share this important — albeit obvious — note with your friends. Tell everyone. Maybe even your priest. Today is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Advent is quickly approaching, but it’s not here yet. You have to wait to wait. Since it’s... Read more
I’ve made a full recovery from yesterday’s outburst. I clarified a few things in comments and others raised some good and completely irrelevant points too. Darwin Catholic wins for the biggest, line-by-line take down of it. He accuses me of being exploitive. The more I think about it, the more I suspect that he’s probably right. Let’s not pretend like blogging isn’t exploitive. I guess it depends on what exploitation is. I don’t know. But don’t get me wrong: the story... Read more
(WARNING: I’m pissed and I’m not mincing words or emotions here. I’m not reporting, I’m venting. I’ll post links to other stories and all that jazz later, once I cool down.) These idiots — who denied Savita Halappanavar an early induction that would have saved her life — deserve court and confession, prison and penance. These idiots also happen to be my religious kin. They used the word ‘Catholic’ and their Irish national identity carries a long, storied relationship to my... Read more
Yesterday’s Spanish debut was a direct response to posts, on Facebook and Twitter, covering the USCCB’s conversation about new media with Catholic bloggers. (Here’s a great recap by Leah Libresco, with links to other posts by Patheos bloggers who attended.) I wasn’t able to attend, but I gathered that there was some data presented that indicated a disproportionate gap between English and Spanish language Catholic blogs relative to the demographics of the data. My reaction was straightforward: I decided to post... Read more
(A note to English readers: this begins a series of Spanish-language essays I will post here weekly.) Pregunta: ¿Que puede ofrecer la cultura Hispana a la Iglesia Católica en los Estados Unidos? Respuesta: Cultura. En el sentido biológico, una “cultura” nace de proximidad y tiempo. Lo que nos falta en los Estados Unidos es el prójimo, la persona que se besa, abraza y ama porque la vida siempre se acaba. La persona que aparece en proximidad. Esta intimidad, tan ausente... Read more
It is hard to have a conversation when politics are at stake. The news makes fools of us all. I find it nearly impossible to discuss important things in serious ways during election cycles. Besides my close friends, most people suspect that I’m secretly trying to pull a political maneuver. Mistrust abounds. For instance, I’ve been asked “Why don’t you have anything to say about abortion?” several times. I have my reasons. The main reason is that I will not... Read more
Sam Rocha
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In