Look at that cover; Pope Benedict XVI and Jordan’s Prince Ghazi Muhammad bin Talal, taken during Benedict’s visit to the Holy Land in 2009. Given the headlines coming our way every day from an evolving Middle East, and what these changes mean for governments and churches, could it– or the cover story featuring an interview with Jesuit Father Samir Kahalil Samir — be more timely? Like its editor Dr. Matthew Bunson, The Catholic Answer has a gift for timeliness; it’s... Read more
My column at First Things this week brings me back to a retreat experience that I am still processing and learning from: How does one assist at adoration and not feel inclined to bash all anger, all fear, all frustration, temptation, hopelessness, upon the cross of Christ—which can bear all things—and simply consent; simply allow him to recreate, revive, restore to make everything, everything, new. His majesty will do it; He will not wait to discuss all the ways you... Read more
I just love this: At the end of [The Pope’s] meeting with some 1,600 young religious women — most under 35 — he intoned the Lord’s Prayer in Latin and the sisters joined in. The pope and his aides — all men — usually lead the singing when the pope is with a large group, but the papal aides drew back quickly and the pope lowered his volume, letting the sisters’ fill the courtyard with their voices. Go here to... Read more
Msgr. Charles Pope has noted it: Recently however, I am getting more comments that are just plain rude, mean or unnecessarily personal. I have had to press the delete button more than I’d like. It is not just the use of profanity that is alarming (and that too is becoming more common), but it is the excoriation of one’s opponents with dismissive labels and terms which either question their orthodoxy, or their love of the poor, label them as rigid... Read more
Disorientation; How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind features essays on modern “Isms” (Hedonism, Americianism, Marxism, Modernism, Relativism, Cynicism) from some of your favorite Catholic writers, including Peter Kreeft, Eric Metaxas (whose Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is an award-winning must-read!), Fr. Z., Fr. George Rutler, Jimmy Akin, Mark Shea, Fr. Dwight and many more. Given the time of year, I’ve been recommending it be added (along with the YouCat) to everyone’s “back-to-school” shopping list. I’ve noticed that... Read more
I’m a sucker for wavy stripes; I find them restful. So when I saw the cover of Christine Valters Paintner’s The Artist’s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom, I gave a little gasp of appreciation — okay, I stared at it in a kind of bliss for a while — and anticipated in those blurred, calming lines the message: more restful stuff within! Well. . .yes and no. There’s a little treasure trove within the book, but how... Read more
Lots of very ungenerous comments yesterday — detailing how Mark Shea is a heterodox-Michael-Voris hater — by people who were busily emoting, and ignoring the fact that yesterday morning, before most were even aware of the story, Shea was already defending Voris, and promising a beefed-up defense today. And today, he keeps his word, coming to the defense not only of Voris, but of Simon Rafe, too: “. . . I expect some in the blogosphere who aren’t especially keen... Read more
Photosource First things first. The goal of a Christian is to come to know and believe in Jesus Christ and to live with God forever. Catholic education remains vital because it anchors itself in that foundational truth. [. . .] Catholic schools are also indispensable because they help students understand the transcendent purpose of their thousands of hours of cramming and test-taking. As one of my colleagues put it, Catholic education responds to the question, “What now?” “Now that we... Read more
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