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“There is no economic incentive for a parent to devote full-time care to his or her own children at home,” complained a former student whom I hadn’t seen for 15 years. He was in my office seeking help with a job search. His résumé looked good: honors graduate of Loyol
The Word
The Gospels are filled with stories about Jesus sharing meals Each story tells us something more than that he was hungry Some of them illustrate his observance of Passover Lk 17 35 others depict him as a dinner guest at the homes of Simon the Pharisee or Jesus rsquo friend Martha Lk 7 36 10
Books
In case you have ever wondered why the facade of St Peter rsquo s Basilica in Rome seems so disproportionately and disagreeably wide in relation to its height the explanation is that the final bays on both of its sides are in fact not part of the facade itself They instead represent the lower por
The Word
We have seen the Lord 8221 Who has not longed to hear those words Or who has not longed for the experience that gave birth to the words Most of us are like Thomas in today 8217 s Gospel 8212 not that we are doubters but that our faith is based on the words of others Someone else has the exp
Politics & Society
Tensions between Jews and Christians and Muslims in Israel-Palestine and the Middle East more generally, as well as violent Christian-Muslim clashes in Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan and Nigeria in recent months, to say nothing of the war with Iraq, have led to some disturbing stereotyping of the Islami
Letters
More Inclusive
Since Cardinal Avery Dulles mentioned me in his article Vatican II: Substantive Teaching (3/31), I would like to make it clear that I also understand the Second Vatican Council to mean that it is only in the Catholic Church that the church of Christ continues to exist with all the institutional elements that Christ bestowed on his church. However, I have never understood subsists in to mean that it is only in the Catholic Church that the church of Christ continues to exist. If that were the case, one would have to say that in 1054 the church of Christ ceased to exist in half the Christian world. Then one could not describe the Orthodox churches as true particular churches, nor could one say that by the celebration of the Eucharist in those churches the church of God is being built up. The question at issue is whether the church of Christ is wider and more inclusive than the Catholic Church. It is not clear to me where Cardinals Ratzinger and Dulles stand on that question.
Francis A. Sullivan, S.J.
A few years ago, a gutsy doctor named Susan Black strode into the merciless mess of Kosovo. She went there as a volunteer expert to help expand medical services in refugee camps, assisted by her trusty translator, Faza, an ethnic Albanian. After traveling with Faza for six weeks, 12 hours a day, she
In the cold December half-light where I sat with my first cup of coffee, it caught my eye. I was intent on praying myself into a good attitude for a weekend of meetings, and saw outside my window one of many astounding ironies in midtown Manhattan. There, in the middle of a postage-stamp size conven
Books
From the time of the Devotio Moderna to the present books offering guided meditations on Jesus have been a staple of Christian spirituality Anselm Gr n a Benedictine monk and best-selling spiritual writer in Germany and throughout Europe offers 50 short vignettes of the life and teaching of Jes
Faith
As Easter comes round again, many wonder how to understand the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its message for us.
Faith in Focus
He saves, he hoards, he gloats over his cache of candy: my grandson, Tyler the Tightwad. He’s never heard of Silas Marner or Shylock or any of those other renowned literary misers, being barely four years old. Nor is he ungenerous in any other direction. In this case, however, he truly is a sk
Of Many Things
Until I entered the Jesuit novitiate at age 28, I had never attended an Easter Vigil.When I was a boy, it seemed to me that every year, at the morning Mass on Easter Sunday, we read the wrong Gospel passage. Usually the story took place a long time after the resurrection. I couldn’t figure out
During the weeks of Lent, America has offered a series of articles by Catholic writers on traditional devotions. This week we conclude our eight-part series with a look at devotion to St. Joseph and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As some of our essayists have noted, the theological question of the
Arts & CultureBooks
During an interview several years ago Edna O'Brien told me a story about an appearance of hers in the 1960's on an Irish television program during which the host said to the studio audience: "Hands up all of you who think Edna O'Brien has shamed her country."
News
Experts Say New Immigration Controls Not Much HelpFormer F.B.I. and C.I.A. counterterrorism experts said on April 3 that most of the immigration restrictions imposed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have done little to improve national security and wouldn’t have kept any of the men implica
Columns
The day the bombing began in Baghdad, my daughter came home from kindergarten and said, “We’re at war with Iraq, right Daddy?” Later that evening, she stopped in the midst of her piano practice to ask, “Daddy, how can music change the world?” Her thinking was, I knew, p
Editorials
Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east,
FaithFaith in Focus
It is easy to overlook Joseph, much as we overlook those millions of men and women who do their work quietly and well, without the least fanfare.
Books
Not long ago I heard several chaplains of a major U S children rsquo s hospital speak on ldquo spirituality and medicine rdquo After a review of recent scientific studies linking prayer faith and physical health one of the speakers gasped ldquo When I hear such exciting news all I can say