The 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared, “God is dead; but given the way of men, there may still be caves for thousands of years in which his shadow will be shown.” Nietzsche here expresses a central claim of the modern era: the non-existence of God and the enduring faith of the foolish—those…
When Jesus blesses the peacemakers in the Sermon on the Mount, he is not talking about people who simply avoid conflict or keep everyone happy. He also promises that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will have that hunger satisfied (Matt 5:6). The vision of peace that Jesus inherits from Israel’s prophets is inseparable…
Mass readings: Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40. The Sunday Gospel There is an old joke about Stalin, a child and a radio commentator. A child approaches the Soviet dictator and asks, “Comrade Stalin, will you give me a sweet?” Stalin replies with an abrupt command to go away. The radio commentator then…
While studying in Leuven, Belgium, in June 2021, I visited the war cemeteries around Ypres. At Artillery Wood Cemetery, I found the grave of Francis Ledwidge, the Irish poet from Slane, Co. Meath, who was killed near Ypres 1917. In ‘Home’, he writes: “This is a song a robin sang / This morning on a…
We all admire people who are magnanimous. These are people who have a soul that is wide and deep enough to embrace everyone and who have a universal scope to their vision for a better, united and more humane world. The opposite to an Anima Magna or large soul is the Anima Pusilla– the puny…
The opening words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ vision of discipleship, are a list of makarioi: the blessed, the flourishing, the fortunate. Before Jesus tells his disciples what to do, he gives them a vision of the world as it looks under the reign of God. It is a very upside-down kind of…
Q: Catholic governors commit an obviously sinful act when they sign extremely permissive abortion laws. On the other hand, there is an extraordinary minister of holy Communion in my parish who told me she is pro-choice, but I’m not aware she has done anything to support abortion except maybe vote for a pro-choice candidate. My…
In the Gospel story of his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus describes the life of God within the believer as being like a well-spring of fresh water: “The water that I will give them will become a spring, welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). With this image, Jesus teaches us…
All Catholics worth their salt know that love is the meaning of life. In the First Letter of St John, we read that “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8), and in response to the lawyer of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus confirms that the summation of the law and prophets is found in love, affirming, “You shall…
I happened to be on vacation in lovely Baltimore in West Cork recently. I discovered something unusual for an Irish village or town. There was not a Catholic church building in sight. Yes, a lovely Church of Ireland building was visible on the main street, and it was closed on the day of my search.…
Fr Dominik Domagala
Fr Barry White