The activity of preaching flows from an intimate encounter with the living Word, says Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP There are certain similarities between the world in which St Dominic de Guzman lived and our own world. St Dominic founded the Order of Preachers in response to the Albigensian/Cathar heresy, a heresy that flourished not least…
The world is hyperventilating like I’ve never seen it before. Particularly for anyone who watches broadcast news (I don’t) or participates in social media platforms (sadly, I do), the world has been coming at us like one of those egregious music videos where images and scenes are fast-cut and flashing by so quickly you can…
Cardinal Timothy Dolan You’ve seen those ‘bulletin bloopers.’ I enjoy them. Here’s one: “The topic for next week’s sermon will be ‘What will hell be like? Come early and listen to the choir.’” Thank God that can’t be said about most of the choirs I’m grateful to hear at Sunday Masses here in the archdiocese.…
Some years ago, an op-ed piece appeared in the New York Times by Frank Bruni, entitled The Wages of Celibacy. The column, while provocative, was fair. Mostly he asked a lot of hard, necessary questions. Looking at the various sexual scandals that have plagued the Roman Catholic priesthood in the past years, Bruni suggested that…
The Sunday Gospel Jos 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b Ps 34: 2-3, 16-21 Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32 Jn 6: 60-69 When was the last time you had the opportunity to give public witness to Christian faith? Perhaps it was in the presence of co-workers or neighbours, or maybe among friends and family. Whenever we witness…
Q: What is the position or rule of the Church concerning cremation? A: There is a short answer to your question in Paragraph 2301 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which tells us that, “The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.” But we can gain…
St Anthony offers a timeless challenge, says Lauretta Brown The invitation that Jesus gave to the rich young man in the Gospel of Matthew to “go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” is one that has echoed throughout the history of…
Bishop Robert Reed Here’s a question for you. Is holiness complicated or is it simple? Jesus tells us that holiness shows itself in simplicity, in acts such as giving a cup of cold water to a little one (Mt 10:42), or even in just sitting quietly in trust, like lilies of the field (Mt 6:28).…
You may recognise these often-quoted words from St Teresa of Kolkata, “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” Beautiful, right? Except – does that really sound like the Mother Teresa we know? The one we saw in the streets and slums of Kolkata, bending down to those covered in…
I teach Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. Fifteen years ago, we began offering a PhD in Spirituality. In the fifteen years since we have had doctoral students from many different Christian denominations – Mainline Protestants, Evangelicals, Episcopalians/Anglicans, and Roman Catholics. During those fifteen years we have not had a…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser