It is taken for granted these days by those of every political and religious persuasion that love is a very good thing, and rightly so. This is so taken for granted that it’s one of those things that has become invisible, a truth that goes without saying. We usually learn about ‘love’ by osmosis, rather…
Nowadays Christianity of the past is often criticised as having been opposed to the body; and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure ‘sex’, has become a commodity, a mere ‘thing’ to be bought and sold,…
A Generation ago, JD Salinger wrote a novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which became immensely popular, as well as becoming required reading in most undergraduate literature programmes. It deserved both. It’s a great piece of literature.Here’s the image: A man is watching children playing in a rye field with an exuberance and delight that…
The Sunday Gospel, Deacon Greg Kandra Jer 20:10-13 Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 Rom 5:12-15 Mt 10:26-33 How is your Ordinary Time going? After the intensity of Lent and the jubilation of Easter we may think this period is relatively uneventful, but think again. On the 12th Sunday of a time we call “ordinary,” we find ourselves…
Praying with God’s word will lead to the renewal of the Church, writes Stephen Binz The Bible is the “word of the Lord”: an inspired library of narrative, poetry, letters and literature that God has spoken to us, to benefit our lives. So why is it that many Catholics encounter Scripture only during the readings…
A few years ago, I started to pray using the Examen of St Ignatius Loyola. Everything changed for me. Prayer took on a new, refreshing character. I became an evangelist for the Examen. I buttonholed friends, wrote blog posts and a book, and recorded guided Examens on the Internet. I did everything I could to…
Elizabeth Poreba ends a poem, No Good Company, with these words: I’ve got no banter, I’m all judgement and edges, an edgy white lady Wondering what to do, what to do next As in Jesus is coming, look busy. At the wedding feast in Cana, Mary tells Jesus, they have no wine, asking him to…
St Anthony of Padua On 13 June, the Church calls to mind one of its Doctors – St Anthony of Padua. This remarkable man, but a very ordinary one, too, in so many ways, is one of the most quickly canonised saints in the Church’s long history, with Pope Gregory IX canonising him less than…
The Sunday Gospel 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ex 19:2-6a Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Rom 5:6-11 Mt 9:36-10:8 The Roman catacombs are unique, unlike any other place, where the faith, courage and love of the early Christians is evoked powerfully. In these ancient networks of tunnels and chambers deep beneath the eternal city of Rome one encounters…
It’s widely held today that faith, or spirituality as it’s more commonly put these days, is a private matter. Rightly perceived as an important element of the inner lives of individuals, our culture’s view of the topic is this: faith or spirituality is an expression of the individual’s relationship with God, the universe or some…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser