Vox Nova is pleased to present a guest post by Fr. Carl Diederichs of All Saints Catholic Church in Milwaukee. The readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are: Isaiah 7: 10-14, Romans 1: 1-7, and Matthew 1: 18-24. We won’t go into why Ahaz would not ask for a sign, but his response did give Isaiah the opening to present a whole new vision for humanity: “The Lord himself will give you this sign; the virgin shall conceive, and... Read more
NO, NOT ABOUT EATING PEOPLE; I’m saying he was right to ask this question of Clarice Starling: “First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. ‘Of each particular thing ask: What is it in itself? What is its nature?’” The quote is from (or more accurately, inspired by) Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations,” regarded as one of the masterworks of Stoic philosophy from Classical Antiquity. I think that question is worth asking when it comes to our economic system. What is its nature?... Read more
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren: “There is a $6.6 trillion gap between what Americans under 65 are currently saving and what they will need to maintain their current standard of living when they hit retirement. $6.6 trillion — and that assumes Social Security benefits aren’t cut. Make no mistake: This is a crisis.” According to Forbes magazine: “Our national demographics, coupled with indisputable, glaringly insufficient retirement savings and human physiology, suggest that a catastrophic outcome for at least a significant percentage... Read more
There has been a barrage of criticism from the American right over the economic teachings of Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium. I think much of this criticism reflects the fact, as I argued already, that Pope Francis is tackling some sacred cows among a significant cohort of American Catholics who try really hard to align traditional Catholic social teaching with their understanding of the supremacy of the free market. Much of the criticism is vitriolic nonsense, and to be ignored. But... Read more
I am 51 years old, live in Berkeley, California, and went to Mass in the 1960s here, and have gone to Mass throughout the Bay Area and a lot of the rest of the US in the last 51 years in a wide variety of parishes – and I can say the following from personal, direct experience: 1. I have never seen a “clown mass” celebrated at any liturgy I’ve personally attended, nor have I heard of a specific instance... Read more
A couple of months back, Francis Rooney – former US ambassador to the Vatican – gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute. It was a pretty humdrum affair, until the end, when somebody asked him if Pope Francis and his predecessors would be Republicans or Democrats in the American context. This was clearly a ludicrous question, and – especially for a diplomat like Rooney – easy to brush off. But he didn’t brush it off. Instead, he gave this... Read more
Almost a year ago I wrote a post reviewing and critiquing parts of Ralph Martin’s book Will Many Be Saved? in which he critiques the maximalism, optimism, or universalism (depending on which term you prefer) of Rahner’s and von Balthasar’s readings of Vatican II on the salvation of non-Christians. Martin blames this optimism for the practical disappearance of missionary zeal among many Catholics. Martin’s book ingniting up a series of conversations and debates on the topic. Recently, Catholic World Report has hosted a symposium on “Vatican II,... Read more
Today is the feast day of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of Mexico, Patroness of the Americas. In honor of today’s feast, I want to share the message of Papa Francisco to the Americas in honor of this feast day, and a rendition of the traditional song sung before la Virgen on this day. (more…) Read more
I have a question about being a lector that I am of two minds about. I can see both sides of the question and I wanted to lay my problem out here for discussion. This Sunday’s second reading is from Romans 15:4-9. Verses 8 and 9 read For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.... Read more
From the folks at Daily Gospel Online comes a commentary by St. John Chrysostom: Is there anything more ridiculous than a christian who couldn’t care less about other people? Don’t use your poverty as an excuse. The widow who put two small coins in the Temple coffer (Mk 12,42) would rise up against you; Peter, too, who said to the lame man: “Gold or silver have I none” (Acts 3,6) and Paul, who was so poor he often went hungry.... Read more
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