The publication of Fiducia Supplicans by the Vatican almost two months ago prompted quite a tumult in the Catholic world (at least on social media), with all manner of reactions, both positive and negative. I don’t want to dive into the controversy over this document, at least not directly. Suffice it to say that from my perspective, much of the hostility towards this document in the United States is driven by the faction of Catholics who are overtly hostile to... Read more
Visiting family for Christmas affords the opportunity to keep the feast among both Mennonites and Catholics, the two branches of the Christian tradition that I consider home. Even though they don’t currently live in or near any of the multiple communities in which my faith was formed, being among Mennonites invariably feels like a homecoming of sorts, a return to a native country from which I may have in some sense expatriated, but which can never not be home. Why do... Read more
Eleven years ago, I gave this sermon to my Secular Franciscan fraternity and posted it here at Vox Nova. It is one of my favorite posts on Vox Nova. In light of the my last post on Greccio, I want to share it with you again. December 16, 2012, Gaudete Sunday A sermon delivered to St. Joseph Fraternity, Hartford, as part of our annual Christmas Creche devotion My brothers and sisters in Christ: may the Lord give you Peace! Today... Read more
The year 2023 marks the 800th anniversary of the very first Christmas creche, which was created by St. Francis of Assisi to celebrate midnight mass in the town of Greccio in 1223. The story is recounted by his first biographer, Thomas of Celano, and below I have pasted an extensive extract of his account. Francis did more than create a creche: he created a living nativity scene in a cave, complete with an ox and ass. To mark this occasion,... Read more
Last summer, two people in my life got diagnosed with terminal cancer. On the weekend after Thanksgiving – the feast of Christ the King – one of them made the transition from curative to palliative care. After about two months of chemotherapy, he contracted COVID-19 last October. Though he recovered, he was left too weak to withstand more chemo. He spent much of November in a rehab facility trying to regain strength to continue the treatment. But at Thanksgiving... Read more
On October 7, 2023, when I woke up to the news of the Hamas attacks on over 1300 innocent Israeli citizens, I was horrified. The world was – and is – already grappling with one major war brought on by Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. On that otherwise beautiful autumn morning, I learned that the world’s most infamous conflict zone – a land holy to followers of three religions – had exploded into violence. This violence has only continued... Read more
There have been times over the past few years when I’ve gotten the deeply unsettling feeling that I was observing society around me careening toward some sort of catastrophe, as if in slow motion yet simultaneously at breakneck speed, and that although I could see it coming, I could do nothing to stop it. I started having that feeling while seeing a certain famous narcissist attempt to use governmental power to maintain (and now to regain) that power, fueled by... Read more
At today’s Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to US Catholic for inviting me to share a personal meditation on this reading as part of their Sunday Reflections series. A reflection for the third Sunday of Lent Imagine that, one late July afternoon, while driving down Highway 20 outside Galena, Illinois, you stop at the scenic overlook rather than passing it by. Suppose you admire the pastures,... Read more
During this weekend’s Mass, I was struck by the second reading of the liturgy from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,... Read more
A few years ago, my creeping moral unease with major pharmacy chains was galvanized by reading about “pharmacy deserts“, which occur when chains squeeze out and then buy out independent pharmacies only to shut them down, forcing customers to travel burdensome distances to pick up prescriptions – with potentially disastrous effect if people can’t get there by closing time. I was reminded of this on learning of a similar situation happening with a pain management facility, essential to many patients,... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In