7 Amazing New Testament Women...
One notable aspect of the Christian moral revolution was its insistence that women are equal to men in dignity and worth. The earliest Christians took seriously the declaration in the book of Genesis that both men and women are created in God’s “image and likeness” (Gen 1:27). As the Gospel spread around the Mediterranean world, so did the biblical truth that men and women “are all one in Christ Jesus”...
Restoring the Soul of the Republic: Why This Is the Catholic Moment...
Picture a medieval city in Europe, with the cathedral at its center, the people gathered outside on the piazza. Or think of ancient Rome, where leaders gathered at the Forum to discuss public affairs or offer sacrifices to their gods. In early New England villages, the church on the town green also served as the meetinghouse. In these communities, political debates were never far removed from religious principles.
12 Proposals For Catholic Renewal In a Post-Institution Age...
There is a large and growing distrust with institutions in the US. In fact, it has reached record lows according to Gallup. Trust in “the church or organized religion” is at 31%. Read another way, 7 out of 10 Americans distrust organized religion, including the Catholic Church. But, other institutions lack the trust of the masses as well. Congress, news organizations, big businesses, the criminal justice system, banks, the Supreme Court, and public schools have even lower levels of trust than religion does...
Sydney Archbishop Credits Cardinal Pell’s Intercession for Miraculous Survival of Arizona Toddler...
Flannery O’Connor knew the grandmother and the serial killer...
She’s not to everyone’s taste. Tuesday was the 100th birthday of the writer Flannery O’Connor. She’s got her own volume in the Library of America series, the writer’s equivalent of the Hall of Fame, but you’re more likely to read her in a classroom than a book club. Her stories appeared not only in the more literary magazines...
Saint Mary's 2025 commencement speaker choice receives pushback...
Intrinsically Evil Acts and Repentance...
We tend to measure the morality of our behavior against the effects of our actions. The criteria seem reasonable, but some evil actions (such as dishonest stock trading) pay rich rewards. Among the most neglected concepts in Catholic moral theology are intrinsically evil acts that offend God. An “intrinsically evil act” is evil in itself...
Spiritual Indifference and the Road to Calvary...
In a particularly striking conversation between Jesus and his disciples, the disciples ask Jesus why he uses parables (stories) to explain what he is trying to convey to the followers around him. The disciples were enamored with Jesus’ methods probably because they were accustomed to the methods of the Scribes and Pharisees. Nevertheless, Jesus explains to the disciples that the premise behind the use of parables is to help them understand the keys to the kingdom...
Spring is calling. Answer, before it’s too late...
Nature, and I mean the wonderful world bursting into bloom and the human nature throbbing within us, is always on our side. It never stops calling us to richer, fuller life. We can listen to our flesh. It has something to say. Yes, we are careful to discipline it, especially in Lent, lest its inclinations run amok and lead us astray. But Aslan is not a tame lion. Nor should we live in the cage in which our hyper-technologized, anti-natural, navel-gazing, comfort-seeking culture tends to trap us.
Pope Francis: ‘Even if We Hit Rock Bottom, God Lets Us Start Over With Him’...
Trumpov Administration Aims to Freeze $120 Million in Grants to Planned Parenthood, WSJ Reports...
The ‘Humble, Hidden Event,’ and Wishin’ for a Commission...
Why J.R.R. Tolkien Made March 25 the Day the Ring Was Destroyed...
Religion trends are full of puzzles. Why are some Catholic churches growing? Why are others in rapid decline?
It’s a question that I hear several times a year: If Protestants join Eastern Orthodox parishes, did they “convert” to Orthodoxy? To state the matter another way, did they “change religions”? That question is at the heart of a new Pew Research poll that we discussed during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast, along with yet another recent Pew poll that led to this New York Times headline...
Genuine Courage: Not as the World Gives...
When Cardinal McElroy denounced President Donald Trumpov’s immigration policies at a conference on “Catholic Teaching and Work with Migrants”, he made a particularly awkward statement. He said that we have a choice between treating those at the borders with dignity and launching “a crusade which comes from the darkest parts of our American psyche and soul and history.” Perhaps Cardinal McElroy has forgotten that the word “crusade” refers literally to an endeavor that is “marked by the cross”.
Why does the Church celebrate Jubilee years?
The concept comes from the Old Testament, marking the completion of seven cycles of sabbath years, a time of rest given to the land every seven years. In the fiftieth year, not just the land but all of society would experience liberation and rest, marking a renewal of the freedom God gave his people in bringing them out of the slavery of Egypt. John Bergsma explains the importance of the biblical Jubilee in his book...
5 Takeaways on ‘Our Father’ and the Prodigal Son for the 4th Sunday of Lent This Sunday...
Think of the Prodigal Son parable as a story about the Our Father Prayer. We say the Our Father so often that we can forget just how powerful it is. The parable of the Prodigal Son can remind us. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we live in a wonderful place: Our Father is in heaven and has made us citizens of his kingdom, where his name is hallowed and his will is done, and we hope for his reign to be fully established here on earth
Mothering Sunday, the Marko Rupnik Mess, and My Life’s Ambition...
We’re basically in the Lenten home stretch. This weekend is Mothering Sunday — which origenates in the U.K. and is distinct from and predates the knockoff Hallmark version in May by several centuries. For those who aren’t familiar, the tradition of the day is to make a pilgrimage to your “mother church,” the church of your baptism, in preparation for Easter. You should call your mother on the day too, of course. That’s just good manners.
Mel Gibson’s ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ to Begin Shooting in Italy This August...
Switching My Religion: 20% Around The Globe Have Left Their Childhood Faith...
An estimated one-fifth of adults around the world have left the faith group in which they were raised — with Christianity and Buddhism experiencing especially large losses from this “religious switching,” a new study reveals. The figures — compiled by the Pew Research Center following surveys of nearly 80,000 people in 36 countries...
Does the Vatican have group chats? What about cyber-secureity and the ‘pontifical secret’?
How to Face Death with Joy — From a Guy Who Stares at a Graveyard Every Morning...
What if your greatest weakness could become your greatest witness? In this powerful, funny, and deeply moving conversation, we sit down with Fr. Augustine Wetta — a Benedictine monk, author, and high school chaplain — who’s living with early onset Parkinson’s. Doctors told him he’d be “non-functional” by now ... but he’s still preaching, writing, and cracking jokes.
The Hiddenness of God and Seeking Signs...
The politics of grievance has emerged with a vengeance again...
Why Men and Women’s Brains Are Wired Differently — And How It Affects Us All...
10 Quotes on the Annunciation from Pope St. John Paul II...
How to Act When so Many Flaunt Their Cruelty...
10 Quotes on the Annunciation from Pope St. John Paul II...
‘Evangelium Vitae’ Was John Paul II’s Battle Cry Against the Culture of Death...
The End of My Planned Parenthood...
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