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Over the past few weeks I have had friends plead with me, Please don’t vote for Nader again. You will be giving the vote to Bush. You will be giving the vote to Kerry. There’s my problem: I don’t want to give my vote to either of them. Such words could infuriate readers as well as
Freed nearly a decade and a half ago from its dividing and restraining wall, Berlin has largely succeeded in moving beyond the siege mentality of the cold war period. It has become once again not only the political capital of Germany but a cultural center of gravity for Europe as well, especially in
Books
It is no great secret that the Catholic liturgy in the United States underwent significant changes in the 1960 rsquo s and 1970 rsquo s First came the switch to the vernacular and the repositioning of the priest at the altar Other changes soon followed Traditional Catholic hymns were dismissed in
Editorials
There is another killer disease besides AIDS, but it receives far less attention in the wealthy nations of the Northmalaria. Malaria has been almost completely eliminated in the United States and other developed countries. It is often included among the so-called neglected diseases, neglected in the
What makes good liturgy? That is the question with which a squad of talented Catholic liturgists have been wrestling in the pages of America over the past nine weeks. Beginning with the most basic liturgical minister of allthe assemblythese men and women have probed the arts of presiding and preachi
The Word
In the popular Christmastime movie ldquo Home Alone rdquo an inattentive family goes off on vacation not noticing the absence of one of their children Left behind with only his ingenuity the young boy fends off a pair of bungling burglars There are some touching moments to this film but it b
Books
Two faith questions guiding Kathleen Hope Brown rsquo s small but timely and comprehensive book Who is God and Who am I are worthy considerations for us all Who am I as minister is a question within those questions and a fundamental starting point for this text aimed at lay leaders of prayer in
News
Gregory: Denying Communion Over Abortion Is Last Resort"Denying Communion to a politician like Senator John F. Kerry, who supports legalized abortion, must be the last resort in a process to persuade the politician to uphold moral truths when voting," said the president of the U.S. Confere
Not every Mass is going to be a great and deeply moving experience, not for the vast majority of us anyway. But there is a great deal to be said for simple fidelity to our worship. St. Ignatius Loyola says in the Spiritual Exercises that the person who is experiencing some desolation (dryness, &ldqu
Letters
cartoon by pat byrnes
Natural Method
I was exceedingly pleased to read in Signs of the Times (4/5) that Pope John Paul II said, The administration of water and food, even when delivered using artificial means, always represents a natural method of preserving life and not a medical act. What a relief. All these years I thought the church held that things artificial were not naturalas in artificial birth control.
Michael Ducar
The Word
When I was a child I often wondered how far up Jesus had to ascend before he got to heaven Later I was dumbfounded when as an adult I read an astronaut rsquo s comment about not seeing any traces in space of Jesus rsquo ascension It is not that I have a clearer understanding of this mystery th
Of Many Things
I was startled. One of my Jesuit confreres had just introduced me to a fellow graduate student, not by name but as “our superior.” We were classmates; we lived in a small community, but somehow I had turned from Drew into “Father Superior.” I was no longer an individual. I wa
Books
The Face is a sequence of 45 poems many of them previously published in literary journals that add up to a ldquo novella in verse rdquo The very long lines of these poems each trailing over to the next without notable pause bespeak a poetic form leaning to prose but does this ldquo novella
Once again, the church is entering a critical period of renewal and reform of liturgical language and practice. In March 2003, the translation and application for the United States of the 2001 edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal was approved by the Holy See, and a translation of t
FaithFaith in Focus
First Communion is a powerful church and family ritual; no one who has been present can miss its importance for the children taking part.
The Word
We seem to tire so easily of the ordinary in life Many of us are constantly looking for something new something exciting We want to be entertained by life and to have the latest of everything whether that means style electronic equipment or fame We are often taken in by the advertisements that
It can be lonely living by oneself in a small town, as I do. But I can always go to Wal-Mart and know that I will be met at the door by a smiling employee who will greet me with “Welcome to Wal-Mart” and give me a shopping cart and a flier with today’s specials. If only I could be
Books
Penelope Fitzgerald rsquo s family crops up often in her prose She alludes to her two Victorian grandfathers one the bishop of Manchester and the other of Lincoln to her uncle Monsignor Ronald Knox and to another uncle and aunt who spent their engagement in the 1890 rsquo s corresponding with
Faith in Focus
We knew it was coming. Months before the recent release of the report of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice on sexual abuse of minors by members of the Catholic clergy, my fellow seminarians and I were forewarned on two separate occasions that the findings would be disturbing. We were told tha