Harvard psychologist Robert Coles, in describing the French mystic Simone Weil, once suggested that what she really suffered from and what motivated her life was her moral loneliness. What is that? Moral loneliness is what we experience when we ache for moral affinity, that is, for a soulmate, for someone who meets us, understands, and…
The Sunday Gospel Jem Sullivan Is 5:1-7 Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20 Phil 4:6-9 Mt 21:33-43 Scripture is filled with almost lyrical images for the divine human relationship. The first reading offers one such poetic passage as the prophet Isaiah uses the image of a grape harvest. In vine growing areas, the grape…
CS. Lewis’s thought continues to influence believers and non-believers alike, writes Jonathan Luxmoore In a rambling red-brick house on the western edge of Oxford, England, a melancholy desk sits at a bay window looking out over tangled woodland. In the foreground, an ancient ashtray stands broodingly against a worn leather armchair, surrounded by wall maps…
Fr Eric Banecker When we speak about the Incarnation, the reality of the second person of the Trinity taking on human nature, we can fall into two bad habits. One is to resort to technical language, which, though necessary at times, can serve to obscure the sublime truth of this dogma. The other tendency is…
Gretchen Crowe For almost two years, the Church has been actively engaged in a process of listening and discernment. Maybe you participated in synod conversations at your parish, maybe you didn’t. Maybe you chatted about topics with friends or colleagues, maybe you didn’t. But very soon, this Synod on Synodality, which opened October 18, 2021,…
Jenna Marie Cooper Q: Is it always wrong in every case to lie? What about the so-called ‘little white lie?’ I’m thinking of situations where you tell a person something you know is false to spare their feelings, when they’re likely never going to know the truth anyway. A: Our Catholic Faith teaches us that…
Perhaps all of Jesus’ invitations to us can be summarised in one word, surrender. We need to surrender to love. But why is that difficult? Shouldn’t it be the most natural thing in the world? Isn’t our deepest desire a longing to find love and surrender to it? True, our deepest longing is to surrender…
Deacon Greg Kandra Ez 18:25-28 Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Phil 2:1-11 Phil 2:1-5 (alternate) Mt 21:28-32 This Sunday’s Gospel offers us an idea a lot of us need to hear: “It’s not too late. Any of us, if we choose, can follow another path.” Telling the story of two sons who made two different…
It can help to have a plan of action for parish closure in these trying times, writes Susan Erschen Fewer priestly vocations. Shrinking Catholic populations. An influx of immigrants bringing with them different religious traditions. Aging Church structures that need cost-prohibitive repairs. These are just a few of the reasons parishes throughout the western world…
David Mills You want to start a vigorous discussion among Catholics, make a definitive statement about what ‘good worship’ is. Be as specific as possible. Every level of detail will double the emotional investment other Catholics will be feeling. Arguments Which is to say: Don’t do that. It won’t get you anywhere, it won’t change…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser