Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and your religious act like religious. – Fulton J. Sheen That quote by Sheen is what leads my column today over at Word on Read more…
We often hear of how the laity, by virtue of our baptisms, have a share in the priesthood of the Church and the priesthood of Christ, but it’s not a well-defined “priesthood” and that’s a good thing because really, our priesthood is to be the hands, feet, eyes and ears of Christ, wherever we are, and in whatever capacity we are being nudged forward by the Holy Spirit. An “undefined” priesthood means there is no Read more…
Well, it’s been very interesting watching predictable Americans react in completely predictable manners as regards President Trump’s latest SCOTUS choice, Brett Kavanaugh. Yes, reactions are utterly predictable, right down the line. For those whose sole concern for the Court is that Roe v Wade is overturned, Kavanaugh is not “enough”. For those looking for constitutionalist jurors, Kavanaugh is quite good. For those who like Jesuit-educated men and women, he is an acceptable, moderate selection. And Read more…
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice! O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading. — Psalm 30:1-2 The anguish Letitia Adams is experiencing as she is trying to process a whole life of pain, a lifelong sense of abandonment is more than most people can describe, but she lets loose on it at her blog, even as she declares she’s “taking a break” Read more…
Last night a very bright political unknown named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez soundly defeated Joe Crowley, a 10-term member of Congress, in their New York primary elections and President Trump — who many have said would sail to re-election in 2020 thanks to rosy economic pictures and troubling social ones — may find himself detoured by it, even headed toward Waterloo. Not a great deal is yet known about Ocasio-Cortez; last night on Twitter more than one Read more…
A recent poll suggests a majority of Americans support the “zero tolerance” policy that separates children (ages 5 years old and up) from parents who cross our Southern boarders illegally, rather that through recognized processing centers. What sort of parent would do it — purposely separate their child from themselves, even at the risk of never seeing them again, of their being taken by someone, or exploited? A desperate one. The Trump Administration’s separation policy Read more…
?Within days of each other, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain took their own lives, and the world responded as the world always does, by trying to find the simplest answer as to why people commit suicide and then finding the fastest and most practical way to address it so they can stop thinking about it. The number one guess for most people is “Depression”. And more times than not, this is true. Sure, there are Read more…
Your kids have said it. Your teenagers have almost definitely said it. Perhaps your spouse has even said it. Maybe you’ve even said it, once in a while, particularly if the liturgy seems plodding, or the priest seems distracted, or the music is…as bad as it can sometimes be: “Ugh, The Mass. Really? Why bother? What is the point of this?” That question inevitably leads to other questions: “Can’t I just worship God anywhere?” “Why Read more…
It’s one of my favorite litanies. If you’d like, let’s pray it together with an old podcast of mine: Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy Christ, hear us Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us [after each invocation, respond with “have mercy on us.”] God, the Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, One God, Heart of Jesus, Read more…
Image: Alex Williams-cc My friend Russell Shaw has been sharing his thoughts on Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One, and I so like what he has to say I’m passing it along to you, too, because it seems to me that right now — as the social media to which most of the world is addicted has us consuming each other like meal scraps and losing sight of the humanity of the “other” in pursuit of…well…in Read more…