Pope Francis Teaches about Hope and Mercy [Paywall]...
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The celebrity death-match nature of the never-ending reality TV show that is our daily news and national politics had become so chaotic that I thought that was no longer true. That is, until a papal deathwatch united us — just as John Paul II’s last days once had. It doesn’t seem as crass an observation now that Pope Francis is rallying. Regardless of one’s politics or opinion of him specifically...
Meet Jerusalem’s ‘Jesus Guy’ Who Calls the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Home...
Carl James Joseph was born in Detroit. But for the past 17 years he has lived in the Holy Land. He is not a typical expat. He didn’t go to Jerusalem for work, and he doesn’t live among other expats in a tony Tel Aviv neighborhood. Instead, James Joseph, 64, has spent most of the past decade living in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem, built in the place where Jesus was laid to rest after the crucifixion, and where he rose form the dead.
Why We Need Lent — Advice from St. Benedict...
Lent shouldn’t be necessary. That’s what St. Benedict of Nursia, the great father of monks, thought at least. Jesus commanded us to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. In response, Benedict thought the whole year should be Lenten in nature, a time of penance and renewal. He even made conversion one of his three vows along with stability and obedience...
Not Breaking, Necessary Vulgarity, and Breakfast Vibes...
Pope Francis is feeling better, so we are told by the Vatican press office. That is good news, obviously. I wrote here last week about the need and right of the pope for some measure of privacy and dignity as he wrestles with his mortality, and our obligation to pray for him. I am grateful the prayers of so many have been answered with what seems to be real, if guarded, progress in his recovery since then.
Remembering W. David Solomon, Founding Director of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics and Culture...
Vatican Thursday Morning Update: ‘Pope Francis Sleeps Well as Health Shows Slight Improvement’...
40 Unique Penance Ideas for Lent...
For Lent, many Catholics traditionally like to give up a favorite food, give up social media, stop cussing, etc., even though Catholics are not required to "give something up". This year, we want to help you get started on having a great Lent by offering unique ideas on what to "give up", which we have crowd-sourced from others. Ash Wednesday is March 5th this year...
After Years of Decline, the Share of Christians in the United States Has Stabilized...
While the Christian share of the U.S. population has remained relatively stable in recent years, the country’s religious composition continues to evolve. For the first time in decades, a new study shows that the proportion of Americans identifying as Christian has stopped its long-term decline, holding steady at 62%. Meanwhile, the number of religiously unaffiliated individuals...
Do Pointless Evils Refute God’s Existence?
The argument from evil is the most powerful reason to deny the existence of God. It comes in two versions: The first is the logical problem of evil, and the second is the evidential problem of evil. In another essay, I explored the logical version—the claim that any evil at all, even a single hangover, disproves God’s existence. The other approach, the evidential version, to the problem of evil can be formulated in two premises...
Pope Francis: ‘The Church Is Not an NGO But a Love Story’...
Beauty Is the Secret Weapon of Evangelization...
‘Working as His Hands and Feet’ — Catholic Nurses’ Association Thrives at Saint Mary’s College...
A Closer Look at ‘Conclave’...
Patron Nun of Photographers? Meet Céline Martin, Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux...
St. John Henry Newman shows us how to think about the difficulties of the world and the Church...
Vatican Advances Causes of Father Emil Kapaun and ‘Apostle of the Rosary’ Bartolo Longo...
20th-Century Mystic Wanda Boniszewska Bore the Stigmata for Priests...
What is distinctive about her? Two things. Sister Wanda was said to have had mystical visions, which she wrote down. She also was said to have borne for some period of her life (at least in the 1930s) stigmata — wounds in her hands, feet and side, and marks of scourging. They manifested themselves irregularly, but usually on Thursdays and Fridays, and particularly during Lent.
Why Are Protestant Bibles Smaller?
How many books are in the Bible? Well, it depends on who you ask! While Protestants and Catholics agree on the 27 books of the New Testament, there is disagreement over the canon of the Old Testament. During the Reformation, the Protestant reformers removed seven books from the Old Testament — Wisdom, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), Tobit, Judith, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees...
This Sunday, Jesus Says to Fight 3 Kinds of Pride This Lent...
In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus gives a whole series of brief sayings. Often, scholars suggest that Luke is simply compiling a “best of” collection of Jesus’s words in one place here, but that’s not necessarily the case. It could very well be that Jesus is doing what Hebrews often do — stringing together a number of parallel words of wisdom, driving a single point home through repetition with a little variety.
A Pilgrim’s Guide to Sodom...
This is a column about Betty and Les Ruppersberger. To the eye, they look like any other ordinary married couple. And in a way, they are like other ordinary couples. Keep them in your memory because I’ll come back to them in a moment. But first, consider the following. One of the most vivid chapters in Scripture is Genesis 18. In the course of its thirty-three verses, God hears of the wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah...
Why St. Gregory of Narek Became a Doctor of the Church...
Pew Research Study: For Every New Catholic Convert, 8 Catholics Leave the Church...
Pope Francis’ ‘Lifewatch’ Encapsulates the Real Work of the Catholic Church...
Twenty years ago, as Pope St. John Paul II entered the last weeks of his life, I wrote that a papal “deathwatch” — as some inelegantly styled it — was really a “lifewatch.” John Paul was teaching the world how to suffer and to die, which is an important part of how to live. The lifewatch for Pope Francis has begun, even as the most immediate crisis seems to have passed. The Church is getting to work...
3 Keys to Having Truly Good Fun...
Having truly good fun is a virtue. This might seem to undermine the very notion of fun by making it a serious matter. Yet here we can discover once again that right-thinking always brings out the true richness of human life. Thomas Aquinas has a subtle and beautiful understanding of the place of play or fun for everyone, not just children. It is worth considering a few features of it. Play/fun/amusement — here we can use the words interchangeably...
Humanities Syllabus for February: A Book, a Film, a Poem, a Piece of Music and 4 Paintings...
During this Jubilee Year, many of us are making pilgrimages, whether all the way to Rome or to designated pilgrimage sites closer to home in our diocese. Through this Humanities Syllabus, we are embarking on another kind of pilgrimage, through some of the greatest landmarks of our cultural and literary tradition, which enliven our minds and imaginations. By rediscovering these treasures, we are tracing the human journey as beings who desire truth and seek to rest in goodness...
Getting to Know Ronald Knox...
The Power and Beauty of Nazaré’s Monster Waves...
Why Women Cannot Be Deacons...
7 planets are aligning in the night sky this week for a "planetary parade." Here's what to know...
Video: Two AI agents on a phone call realize they’re both AI and switch to ‘gibberlink’...
The ‘House of the Father’, Baby News, and the ‘America’ Mystery...
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