Work Keeps Society From Falling Apart
Between 1958 and 1962, ethologist John B. Calhoun (a scientist who studies animal behaviour) conducted a series of experiments on population growth and behavioural patterns. He created a number of “rat...
View ArticleFaith: How to Keep It
Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross My hour of prayer begins as I approach the thirteenth Station. The focus of this station is the removal of Jesus’ body from the cross, so I find myself looking at an...
View ArticleReason to Rejoice
I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon, but oftentimes, I don’t feel like rejoicing when I enter the House of the Lord. God knows we have plenty of troubles. Do we really have reason to rejoice? Yes, we have...
View ArticleHope and the Hell of Hopelessness
“Abandon every hope, all you who enter! — The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, Canto III, Line 9 (Mark Musa translation) Even people who have never cracked the spine of The Divine Comedy know this quote. It...
View ArticleThe Higher Gifts- Why These Virtues Are Theological
How often it is that teachers learn as much from the lesson as the students do? Preparing for RCIA class last month, I read over the section on virtue in the students’ textbook. There they were, the...
View ArticleHope: The Virtue of Not Yet
Hope That Doesn’t Disappoint This discussion about the virtue of hope is not about hope expressed in statements like, “I hope Coach Payton can work a miracle with the Denver Broncos next season.” Or,...
View ArticleLight of Hope
With all the confusion and uncertainties of today, how do we keep the light of hope burning bright for all to see? When hope dims, seeing the purpose of living becomes more difficult. Do we lose sight...
View ArticlePerhaps There’s Hope
The events of the last two years have brought many challenges and hardships to the people in our country. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the turmoil, hate, and violence that seems to fill the air like...
View ArticleSome Thoughts on Where ‘Not Bad’ People Might End Up
We often hear people comforting a grieving friend or loved one at a wake or funeral say, “He (or she) is in heaven with Jesus now.” While this is a comforting thought, I wonder how often this is...
View ArticleMemento Mori
“Remember, Oh man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.” This phrase from the Ash Wednesday liturgy – the Consolatio – may be the most durable memento mori still in common use. Latin...
View ArticleA Letter to a Tired Friend
“I am tired of praying.” This is what I heard my friend whisper tiredly, almost unwillingly. The words hung in the air, lingering as if they were just getting used to being outside rather than bumping...
View ArticleA Lesson from Easter
In the world’s broad field of battle, in the bivouac of life, be not like dumb driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no future, however pleasant! Let the dead past bury its dead! Act, – act in...
View ArticleMissals, Mistakes, and the Mission for Souls
Here in Italy we recently changed our edition of the Roman Missal, the book that guides the priest through the celebration of the Mass. Priests were given the option to start using it in November of...
View ArticleO Faithful Stewards!
What is our reason for living? One of our duties on earth is to be faithful stewards of God’s creations. We live for a purpose greater than ourselves. Therefore, what do we need to succeed in our...
View ArticleThe Catholic and Gnostic Views of Material Reality
Simply, the Catholic and Gnostic views of materiality are, respectively, Good and Evil, which engender hope and despair. It is paradoxical that the modern adoration of materiality in the form of...
View ArticleQuestions from Jesus, Then and Now
Several years ago in one of his many talks, Bishop Robert Barron remarked that a great retreat could be written on the questions asked by Jesus in the gospels. He is right, there are ample questions...
View ArticleFaith Is Like a Marriage Which Makes Us Hope
The person you love most can cut you the deepest. Anyone who has been married for a minute knows this. As a spouse, you have literally mortgaged your entire life on this one person, this vow, this...
View ArticleAnd My Daughter Wept for Jerusalem
When my daughter was younger, we had a ritual. It started when I first began my theological journey. I had the privilege of studying Theology as a laywoman at a seminary run by the Benedictine monks...
View ArticleLiving the Spiritual Seasons of Our Lives
Two years ago, I wrote an article called “How to Stick with Lent During Coronavirus.” It was the first COVID-related article at CS, published on March 14, 2020. When it came out I believed, as probably...
View ArticleLenten Fortitude in Mind and Body
At times it may seem that the pursuit of virtue is little attended to in our current culture. Instead, virtue signaling seems to be more in fashion. However, the recognition that the cardinal virtues...
View ArticleSome Thoughts on Christian Art
Aristotle is said to have written that “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” All of the great master painters throughout history seem to...
View ArticleOvercoming Adversity
My brothers and sisters, I have the best news you could ever have or hear: Jesus is Lord over all! Jesus is Lord over the past, present and future! Jesus loves us passionately, completely,...
View Article