One Catholic’s Brief and Incomplete Appreciation of Billy Graham

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Over at Patheo’s new Public Square feature, they’re talking about the legacy of Billy Graham in the 21st Century. I’m interested in getting some Catholic input on Reverend Graham, whom I’ve always respected, particularly input from Catholics who had entered the church through a more Evangelical background. My own appreciation of him came late. I remember, as a kid, seeing ads in TV Guide for one of his “Crusades” and wondering what the Protestants were crusading about. My formerly-Lutheran Grandmother... Read more

Patheos Welcomes Billy Kangas and The Orant

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Up until now, Leah Libresco — who was baptized and received into the faith just about a year ago — was our “youngest” Catholic both chronologically and religiously. She’s still the youngest among us but she’s almost an old-lady Catholic compared to Billy Kangas, who was received into the church last Easter, and has been making a lot of Catholic noise since even before then, and seems therefore a swell fit for PatheosCatholic. If you’re not familiar with Billy, he... Read more

When Hating Oneself, the World, and God Seems Like Right Reason

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

There are times when — all too innocently, because we have not been mindful of what is before us — we give too much license to a dead past that cannot be changed, and then we lose our handle on things. Like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, we conjure from the ether of our past a solitary-but-sharply-outlined idea, and then suddenly, one after another, memories begin to fall upon us, like bright orbs called from galaxies far beyond, and much better kept... Read more

Sisterly Support: When Nuns Move In Together (and Nun News Updates)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Earlier this year, after what sounds like a truly “long and difficult journey” some Redemptoristine nuns, who were losing the temporary housing they needed while seeking a permanent place to live, work and pray, found a solution out of Carmel: The Carmelite nuns of Beacon were prudently examining their future and their ability to remain on their lovely property. Knowing of the Redemptoristine’s dilemna…The Carmelites voted unanimously to issue an invitation and within two weeks the councils of the communities... Read more

Pope Francis’ Marginalized Ones: You and Everyone You Dismiss, Too

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Back on Wednesday, Pope Francis gave a particularly passionate and energetic sermon that got a lot of notice: Turning to the Letter to the Romans, the Pope then affirmed that this feast is a “feast of unity.” He underlined the fact that all are invited, “the good and the bad.” And the first to be invited are the marginalized: The Church is not the Church only for good people. Do we want to describe who belongs to the Church, to... Read more

Yes, An Invisible Bike Helmet. For Real! UPDATED

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Currently, my elder son is bicycling from Penn Station to his job, every day, and yes, he wears a helmet, but that doesn’t mean my heart doesn’t skip a beat every time I contemplate him riding in nutty New York City traffic — especially if he’s having one of his days of creative pondering. The kind of creative pondering that brings forth ideas like invisible bike helmets. Yes, invisible bike helmets. I think if my son wore one, I might... Read more

Patheos Hits the Public Square

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

I am strangely remiss and should have announced this last week, but I will plead family issues and a kid with pneumonia as reasonable distractions that made me forget to tell you about Patheos’ latest feature: The Public Square. The Patheos Public Square is meant to be a gathering place, where people of various faiths can come together — apart from blogs and echo chambers — to dialogue on pressing issues of the day and how faith perspectives can or... Read more

Savage’s Abortion Facetiousness vs DeBlasio’s Determination

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

My email filled up yesterday with people carrying on about Dan Savage, and his absurd off-the-cuff remarks delivered during a “Festival of Dangerous Ideas”. If you missed it, here’s what he said: C’mon, that’s a toss-off; he’s clearly not serious but merely playing to a goofy crowd eager to think of itself as subversive and brave and oh, so intellectual, by listening to “dangerous ideas” that are not dangerous at all. To say “Population Control! Too many people on the... Read more

Two Extraordinary Moments Where a Single Hand Gesture Tells the Whole Story

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Twice today I have been very moved to come across gloriously beautiful — dare I say transcendent — images, where the poignancy of the moment was movingly emphasized by the small unconscious movement of a single hand. First, thanks to Deacon Greg, I saw the La Stampa photo of Pope Francis kissing a man so seriously disfigured that most of us would likely find him difficult to look at, and would turn away. Everyone is looking at this picture, and... Read more

If you missed Lisa Hendey’s Rwanda Journaling…

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:27 am By Elizabeth Scalia

If you didn’t have a chance to see them — or if perhaps you only saw one or two come through your social media timeline, and not the rest — please do take some time this week, perhaps over a long cup of coffee, and read the excellent journaling Lisa Hendey did throughout her trip to Rwanda. Lisa, who has partnered with Catholic Relief Services for a couple of years, spent an intensive week in Rwanda after being chosen for... Read more