The old question of holding hands during the Our Father has erupted again. Before moving to the heart of this post, a bit of personal history seems in order. The first time I remember this coming up was in the mid-1980s, at the parish we belonged to in Portland, Oregon. Some people were for it, some were against it, and I cannot remember if we did hold hands or not. (My wife says we did.) The whole parish did it… Read more
August 24, 2019
Holding Hands During the Our Father: A Bad Translation and some Thoughts
August 24, 2019 By David Cruz-Uribe
0 Comments
August 19, 2019
Scattering Blossoms, Fallen Leaves: Titian in Venice
August 19, 2019 By Mark Gordon
0 Comments
It started off as another failed art pilgrimage. When I told our tour guide on our first day in Venice that I had come to see Titian’s masterpiece, her face fell. Read more
August 10, 2019
The Church is not an Army, and We are not Soldiers
August 10, 2019 By David Cruz-Uribe
0 Comments
A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a church group I am on the mailing list for, one that really set my teeth on edge. (I am going to leave the specific group out of it, as it is not relevant to the point I want to make.) The email approvingly shared something labeled the Soldier’s Creed of the Catholic Army: I am a soldier of GOD. I am a warrior and a member of TEAM JESUS. … Read more
August 6, 2019
Loving Donald Trump
August 6, 2019 By Mark Gordon
Dorothy Day said that “I only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” Who do you love the least? For me, there is no question. It is Donald Trump, the most unlovable figure I can imagine. But Jesus loves him … Read more
August 4, 2019
US Bishops Speak on Gun Violence
August 4, 2019 By Julia Smucker
0 Comments
Every time news breaks of another public shooting, I’ve come to have the same sinking thought: “What? No, not another one.” And then I automatically say a Hail Mary, a habit I’ve adopted on hearing news of any violent or otherwise untimely death. I have little more to add, having grown weary of trying to come up with something new to say time after time after time after time. But after a week when the US has been hit especially… Read more
July 30, 2019
On striving to be guestly
July 30, 2019 By Jeannine Pitas
0 Comments
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you… Read more
June 30, 2019
Four Episodes from a Consistent Life Ethic, Part IV
June 30, 2019 By David Cruz-Uribe
0 Comments
With this post I continue (and I hope finish) my very long reflection about the consistent life ethic. The first three parts can be found here: Part I, Part II, Part III. This has taken a lot longer and has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, and of course I saved the hardest part for last. Today I want to talk about abortion. Given the recent passage of aggressive anti-abortion bills in Georgia, Alabama and Ohio,… Read more
June 12, 2019
A Pro-Life Case For Elizabeth Warren
June 12, 2019 By Mark Gordon
A nation that reflected Warren’s platform would be one in which the matrix of “a social order that welcomes children and an economic order that supports families” would be more fully realized and that matrix would provide women with greater incentives to reject abortion and bring their pregnancies to term. In concrete terms, this could mean tens of thousands of unborn children surviving pregnancy. Those are real human beings – not symbols in the culture war – who might live rather than die. Read more
April 20, 2019
How to Govern as an Autocrat within a Democratic System
April 20, 2019 By Julia Smucker
0 Comments
You start by playing to fear. You will find plenty of people who, for various reasons, are feeling afraid and aggrieved. Exploit that for all it’s worth. Don’t bother concerning yourself with why they feel that way. After all, you’re not out to solve their problems or understand their concerns, but to win their loyalty. You can do this through branding, making superficial validations of grievances and vague but grandiose promises of restoration to greatness, and above all, feeding the fear…. Read more
April 15, 2019
On the Temple’s Destruction and the Search for Resurrection
April 15, 2019 By Jeannine Pitas
0 Comments
“Oh my goodness – Notre Dame is burning!” I texted a friend just a few hours ago. He immediately replied with Mark 14:58, a verse particularly appropriate for Holy Week: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.'” As I write these words, the great cathedral is still burning; the spire and roof have collapsed; we do not yet know how extensive this damage… Read more
get the latest from
Vox Nova
Sign up for our newsletter
Browse Our Archives
TRENDING AT PATHEOS Catholic
