Archive for July, 2008
« Previous EntriesArchdiocese Celebrates Year of St. Paul
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Most Reverend Joseph Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas, will give a presentation tomorrow (Friday, August 1st) evening on the theme of “Ecclesiology and the Eucharist in St. Paul’s Letters.” The occasion is a joint Protestant and Catholic dialogue, co-hosted by Benedictine College School of Faith and Eastside Church of the Cross. The program […]
Let’s Be Catholic
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008Today’s Catholics are called to be leaven in the new millennium. This is a tremendous challenge, as the richness of our Catholic faith isn’t reducible to mere soundbytes, and timeless Christian wisdom is often portrayed today as simply one voice among many or as the “spin” of the religious right.
This all points to the ongoing […]
Martha, Martha
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008As Catholics, we try to balance in our lives of faith the active Martha and the contemplative Mary. Sometimes in the process Martha gets a bad rap. She’s anxious and worried about many things (Lk. 10:41), so at times we might picture her as a frantic busybody flitting around doing 101 things, while the serene Mary sits at the feet […]
Living Icons
Monday, July 28th, 2008This past weekend ZENIT published a most uplifting interview with Sr. Catherine Marie Hopkins of the Nashville Dominicans. The entire interview, worth reading in full, may be viewed here.
What follows is an excerpt of the interview, in which Sister responds to a question regarding the keys to fostering vocations. Her answer is solid and not […]
Humanae Vitae: What to Do for the Next 40 Years
Friday, July 25th, 2008This is the last planned installment of a year-long series of monthly blog posts in preparation for the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, which was issued on July 25, 1968. In this series I have responded to the common objections or arguments against Humanae Vitae. They all amount to one thing: The dissenters do not like the […]
World Youth Day Is for Everybody
Thursday, July 24th, 2008As I’ve become a father and now a grandfather, I catch myself thinking of World Youth Day (WYD) as an event–an amazing, terrific event, mind you–for another generation, but not for me.
As I’ve been reading the various papal addresses and homilies from the event, however, I’ve come to see with the Holy Father and St. Augustine that […]
Virtue on the Mount
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008In contemplating Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) in recent weeks, one section that has really struck me is the part known as the “Six Antitheses”–the series of six statements by Our Lord that begin “You have heard it said . . .” followed by “I say to you . . .” These statements […]
Taking a “Vested” Interest in the Mass
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Last Sunday my family had a most spiritually uplifting experience at a parish church we were visiting. As we discussed our experience we came up with many things that we liked, including the beautiful church building, traditional music, solid homily, and overall sense of reverence.
My children noticed one additional factor that made a difference to […]
The Other Lawrence
Monday, July 21st, 2008Today is the feast of St. Lawrence of Brindisi. When reference is made to a “St. Lawrence,” however, we are usually referring to the third-century deacon and martyr who is even mentioned in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I). This latter St. Lawrence, given his special patronage of those who barbecue, is indeed a fine summertime […]
McCain on Internet Pornography
Friday, July 18th, 2008Yesterday I mentioned the question put to Senator McCain about our government assisting in the protection of families, children, and communities from predatory graphic and highly sexualized images.
Senator McCain quickly agreed that technology has increased the threat of pornography and related evils. He struggled with a sure answer to the problem of internet pornography in general, […]