I’m a bit late responding to this, but I want to draw your attention (courtesy of Paul Moses) to an editorial in the Diocese of Brooklyn newspaper, which – to put it bluntly – diverges from key concepts of Catholic social teaching. The argument is that because government spending and taxation are so high, individual freedom is impinged, which affects the freedom/ liberty of religious people to donate to their Churches. Wow! How to respond to this? (more…) Read more
Friar Tuck is an interesting character in the legends of Robin Hood. It appears he was not one of the original members of Robin’s Merry Men, but was, with Maid Marian, a later addition to the legend. It also appears that there was some brigand who called himself Friar Tuck, and, much later, this brigand was to become a part of the Robin Hood legends. How late, one might ask? The brigand lived in the fifteenth century: The name appears... Read more
Canadian high school student Paul Gomille has recently found himself at the centre of controversy. Gomille wrote a Valentine’s Day letter to the young women of his Catholic high school in Ajax Ontario that ended up netting him a two day suspension. Here is the text. (The bold letters were not bolded by Gomille, but I will refer back to them in what follows.) Could I please have your attention for a few moments? I guarantee you won’t regret listening... Read more
The spirituality of the Church, while centered upon the eucharist, must not be reduced to going to Mass (Divine Liturgy) and thinking it is all one needs for a healthy spiritual life. But that is what lies behind a comment by Elizabeth Scalia in an article appearing in First Things: I wonder if a corollary exists between Catholics surrendering silence and sacred sensibility, for the sake of socialization, and their exodus from her masses. Our noisy, cynical days have placed... Read more
Many years ago, when I first became involved in the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, I came across a text that made a profound impression on me although I cannot have understood it at the time. It was the Canon of Repentance. Since then I have often returned these verses, slowly and arduously seeking to unfold their meaning. Two choral compositions (Nun eile ich…., 1990 and Memento, 1994) were the first attempts to approach the canon. I then decided... Read more
Life is a good given to us by God. We must appreciate it, indeed, it is something to treasure. Creation as a whole is a good, and no proper follower of Jesus can entirely reject the world. Gnostic dualism, no matter how attractive its simple approach to evil might appear, is denied by the incarnation. Christians must look to the incarnation as the example of how they are to live in the world. We are not to seek to destroy... Read more
Today’s Gospel reading is Mark 9:2-10: Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you,... Read more
Update: While the following chart has gone viral, a more careful search has turned up significant questions about its veracity. See Politifact for more details. It is worth noting that two studies consulted by Politifact (one by the Institute for Policy Studies and the other by the Economic Policy Institute) confirm that the number for the United States is in the ballpark: CEO to worker pay ratios peaked above 500 to 1 around 2000, and currently are only 325 to... Read more
The recent HHS mandate requiring that every health insurance plan cover contraceptives has put Catholic institutions in an awkward situation. As Catholics discuss the best way to approach this issue, we here at Vox Nova thought that it would be interesting to hear from another Christian perspective. Christians of the Anabaptist tradition have been strong advocates of the separation of Church and State since long before it was cool. As such, they have a history of both reflection and praxis... Read more
In my reading of the Catechism for my diaconate formation program, I came across a passage that has set me thinking. In the discussion of the resurrection, it says: Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first to encounter the Risen One. Thus the women were the first messengers of Christ’s Resurrection for the... Read more
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