Part II Prayer is so often misunderstood. People have ideas as to what they think it is about, or what it should do, and if those expectations are not quickly met, people easily give up and stop praying (or pray half-heartedly). Even though many, if not most, people have an intuitive grasp of petitionary prayer, they fail to comprehend it and its true value. This leads us back to the kinds of questions people raise as to why we do... Read more
First came L’Osservatore Romano. Then came 30 Days. And now we a third journal with close ties to the Vatican – La Civilta Cattolica – refusing to toe the line on Obama. In this case, the journal praises Obama’s healthcare reform, even though the USCCB refused to endorse the final version. This is significant. As David Gibson notes, the Vatican Secretariat of State reviews every edition of the Jesuit journal. Or as Sandro Magister puts it, this is a magazine “published by... Read more
“As I talked with brother bishops in preparation for this presentation, there was consistent agreement that one aspect that is most alarming to us about media is when it becomes unchristian and hurtful to individuals.For example, we are particularly concerned about blogs that engage in attacks and hurtful, judgmental language. We are very troubled by blogs and other elements of media that assume the role of Magisterium and judge others in the Church. Such actions shatter the communion of the... Read more
Just today, three friends of mine in the New Orleans Province, Anthony Wieck, Anthony Borrow, and Derrick Weingartner, were ordained as Jesuit priests. Congratulations! Anthony Borrow has his own webpage. For those interested in checking out his very interesting life story and thoughts, you can find it here. Read more
Part I Because we have not learned to appreciate prayer, we often question the act of prayer itself. What it is that we are doing? Why, exactly, are we doing it? Even if we do it out of faithful obedience, we still want to know the point of our activity. In a world desiring action, prayer seems inactive. More often than not, it at least seems as if it accomplishes nothing. We are told to pray, but it doesn’t seem... Read more
Consider this a follow-up to yesterday’s post, about how comfortable the American right is with violence. First Things is a magazine that seeks to “advance a religiously-informed public philosophy”. I suppose that religiously-informed public philosophy encompasses consequentialism. Someone tell the Catholic Church. Someone tell Pope John Paul II, who wrote a strong encyclical denouncing moral positions like consequentialism. What is this about? The title says it all: “Israel’s Gaza Boycott Saves Lives“. The author, Shmully Hecht, claims that “The actions Israel has taken aimed solely to... Read more
One of the things which characterize modernity is the radical idealization of industrialization, of the machine, which has then lead to a similar idealization of technique. While it is true that many post-moderns are concerned about the dehumanization of humanity through such use of technique, their criticisms have yet to be heard by the average person. Because post-modernism tends to be reserved for intellectual elites, such as academics, it is difficult to know whether or not their ideas will effectively... Read more
In my opinion, what runs through that hodge-podge of peculiar and inconsistent beliefs that characterizes American “conservatism” is a theology of violence. On one level, there is of course the derivative Calvinist dualism that divides the world into friend or enemy, loyalist or traitor, freedom-lover or terrorist, patriot or socialist. And the other, of course, to is be destroyed. On another level, there is a liberal social contractarian that restricts basic human rights to those within the perimeter of the social... Read more
This picture is very, very interesting. Click on it and look at the information presented: http://i.imgur.com/u9Kul.jpg What do you think? What is going on here? Are they just using old photographs? Or was is there something more going on, was this a preplanned subterfuge? If they are not faking evidence, then why do we find find pictures from their flickr, which Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs links to on their site, with dates which are not in accord with the... Read more
It’s no secret that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is designed to collectively punish the 1.5 million people who live there. This blockade is now 2 years old, and causes immense suffering. Here is a quick summary from the Financial Times, Amnesty International, and the Daily Beast’s Peter Beinart. The blockade disproportionately hits the most vulnerable, including children (half the Gazan population), the elderly, the sick, and refugees. (more…) Read more
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