Family of God
Holy Terror?
Monday, September 8th, 2008A student in one of my School of Faith courses asked me to explain how terrorism could possibly be justified as doing “God’s will.” I think that’s an important issue for us to explore if we want to address the problem at its root. Obviously this issue arises in the context of Islam, since at least [...]
Love for the Church
Monday, May 26th, 2008Nearly 50 years ago, Blessed John XIII issued an encyclical letter entitled Mater et Magistra, or “Mother and Teacher,” on Christianity and social progress. The words “Mother” and “Teacher” were aptly used by the Holy Father to describe the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ. Certainly the Church is our Teacher, and the Church’s teaching [...]
What’s in a Name?
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008Many of our readers have probably heard about last week’s reply from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on questions concerning the proper formula for Baptism. The CDF said that a Baptism conferred “in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier” or “in the name of [...]
Reality Church
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Surely one of the “lowlights” of today’s culture is “reality TV.” These programs have no plot, no substance, and no enduring value. And ironically, one hallmark of “reality TV” is that it’s eerily unreal. Staged spontaneity is neither good drama nor real living. Tragically, the radical subjectivism of our secular society reflected in reality TV [...]
Our Parish Family
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008“Father, hear the prayers of the family you have gathered here before you” (Eucharistic Prayer III). What do we think of when our parish priest reads these words at Mass? Are we alert enough to hear and embrace this petition? Do we consider this reference to our being a “family” a merely poetic expression or [...]
Seeing is Believing
Monday, January 14th, 2008My first few days as a law student in the early 1980s were a little daunting. After all, I had seen the 1973 movie The Paper Chase a couple times and had some idea of the incredible stress involved in being a first-year law student. My textbooks were so thick that I needed to make [...]
Putting on Heirs
Monday, January 7th, 2008Today is the feast of St. Raymond of Penyafort. As readers will recall, I have an adopted son named Raymond, and having this great Dominican canonist as a patron saint played into our name selection. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I (or should I say, my son) was getting a Dominican [...]
Reality Church
Saturday, November 17th, 2007Surely one of the “lowlights” of today’s culture is the phenomenon of “reality TV.” These programs have no plot, no substance, and no enduring value. And ironically, one hallmark of “reality TV” is that it’s eerily unreal. Staged spontaneity is neither good drama nor real living. Tragically, the radical subjectivism of our secular society reflected [...]