Preaching From the Sacred Text
It was a well-written homily. It reflected on the Gospel for the Sunday (the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost, i.e., prodigal son) and developed a contemporary application: do we envision God as a cosmic policeman ready to pounce on us when we sin, or is God seen as a…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
My mind stopped somewhere short of Washington’s resolute war planners. The equation of a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eyeI have no heart for it. Nor does my mind close around the vague and faceless enemies that we have sent our aircraft carriers to pursue in the Middle Eastor farther east
Letters
Letters
From the President of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity
The editors of America have kindly invited me to respond briefly to the reply from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (11/19). I am happy to do so, since Cardinal Ratzinger’s reply shows that two cardinals, both of whom are active in the Roman Curia and who have to…
Editorials
How Goes the Coalition?
Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist, must have found Oct. 26 a gratifying day. That Friday morning his column, under the heading We Are All Alone, expressed sharp criticism of what Mr. Friedman considers to be footdragging by most members of the antiterrorist coalition.That evening, Jim Lehr
Faith in Focus
The Sun Is Coming
Monday NightThere is a storm outside. Very unusual for September in the Bay Area. My 20-month-old son and I are watching the lights in the sky and mimicking the sounds of the stormhis first experience of lightning and thunder. At first he is fascinated and roars with the thunder, but he quickly beco
Books
She Knows, and Shows, the Way
Prayer is not alien territory for women They know the terrain well Detours bumps shortcuts slippery roads smooth sailing dangerous intersections cruise control They rsquo ve been there Done that Fortunately for us all women have left behind records of their journeys Sometimes thes
To Have and to Hold
There are two schools of American history Oneconservative nationalistic mythmakingcelebrates America as the city on the hill a land of liberty and escape from European tyranny The otherradical iconoclastic demythologizingviews the United States as the last global empire and laments its oppres
Poetry
The Word
Twenty-two Shopping Days Left
Life today often seems like a brief interlude between rushing and waiting We rush to airports only to wait in line hurry off to Christmas sales or returns and again wait and even wait in long lines to receive the Eucharist Waiting involves a necessary slowing down as well as hope of fulfillmen
Columns
The Elephants’ Tango
I went to visit my friend Isabelle the other afternoon. All smiles, she kissed me, grabbed a slice of bread and rushed into the yard. Before I could stop her, Isabelle was on her back, hurling tidbits of bread at the sky. Isabelle, I cried, What are you doing?Feeding the birds, she chortled, as the
Magazine
Letters
From the President of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity
The editors of America have kindly invited me to respond briefly to the reply from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (11/19). I am happy to do so, since Cardinal Ratzinger’s reply shows that two cardinals, both of whom are active in the Roman Curia and who have to…
News
Signs of the times
Vatican Says It Is Time to End Nuclear Weapons Tests The Vatican nuncio to the United Nations said on Nov. 11 that the time has come for the world to end all nuclear weapons testing. Archbishop Renato R. Martino made his statement in support of efforts to secure approval of the Comprehensive Nuclear
Politics
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Culture
Vatican
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