Last week, I had the great privilege of going to a conference in Avila. I used the off-time to visit some of the sites associated with the life of St. Teresa of Avila, including the Monastery of the Incarnation, where she experienced her great conversion and the convent of St. Teresa. Beneath the convent is a wonderful little museum devoted to St. Teresa, both the her life and times and the impact she has had on the Church. We saw... Read more
Jonathan Chait decries a tendency to define “completely out of existence people with pro-government economic views and conservative social views, which are a vastly largely share of the electorate than libertarians or even vaguely libertarian-ish folk, but simply lack any intellectual infrastructure or funding base.” This is the Catholic position! And while we might not have much of a funding base, we have an incredibly impressive intellectual infrastructure in the corpus of Catholic social teaching. Now, if only Catholic leaders... Read more
I participated in my first protest yesterday. I protested in Milwaukee over Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s union busting provisions in his budget repair bill. I estimated about a thousand people at the protest. The newspaper gave the estimate of hundreds, an estimate that is reasonable. What hasn’t been reasonable are the reports of events, the national ones in particular, that claim the protests are over increased heath care and pension contributions. The idea that these protests are over contributions can... Read more
One day Abba Macarius the Great came to Abba Anthony’s dwelling on the mountain. When he knocked on the door, Anthony came out to him and said to him, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am Macarius.’ Than Anthony went inside and shut the door leaving him there. Later, seeing his patience, he opened the door and received Macarius with joy, saying to him, ‘I have wanted to see you for a long time, having heard about you.’ He rendered... Read more
The same Abba Isaiah, when someone asked him what avarice was, replied, ‘Not to believe that God cares for you, to despair of the promises of God and to love boasting.’[1] Avarice (or greed) is one of the eight deadly sins. For those exploring the spiritual life, the eight deadly sins are the fundamental sins which one must overcome in one’s life if one wants to attain purity of soul. They are the eight major root sins; from them, other... Read more
From the press release issued by Archbishop Listecki as head of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee: The Church is well aware that difficult economic times call for hard choices and financial responsibility to further the common good. Our own dioceses and parishes have not been immune to the effects of the current economic difficulties. But hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers. As Pope... Read more
I’ve never heard of Justin Bieber before I saw this. A quick google search suggests that he is an incredibly popular teen idol. I get the impression that his kind of music/ entertainment would really annoy me, but this is good stuff from his interview with Rolling Stone: The Canadian-born Bieber never plans on becoming an American citizen. “You guys are evil,” he says with a laugh. “Canada’s the best country in the world. We go to the doctor and we... Read more
1. Abba Poemen said of Abba Copres that he was so holy that when he was will and in bed, he still gave thanks and restrained his own will. 2. Abba Copres said, ‘Blessed is he who bears affliction with thankfulness.’[1] When we are hurt, when we feel the world around us is falling apart, when all our hopes and dreams seem to be impossible to achieve, we tend to cry out in pain and feel as if life is... Read more
The following is chronicling Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker. From the Journal Sentinel: In addition to the changes on health care and pensions, the bill would eliminate the ability for most public workers to negotiate over anything but wages. Raises could not exceed the increase in the Consumer Price Index unless approved by referendum. They would also have to hold annual votes to keep their unions intact. The bargaining law changes would apply to all public workers except police, firefighters... Read more
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you build the prophets tombs and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of the fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you witness against yourself that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers! You serpents, you brood of vipers! How are you to escape... Read more
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