An Advent reflection

I lead a little meditation group at Sophia University in Tokyo. Every Saturday afternoon we sit around the Blessed Sacrament, some in the lotus position, others on chairs. I myself, alas, no longer sit in the lotus but have to use a chair. We sit in silence for an hour before celebrating the Euchari

Thomas the Apostle needs a publicist. Even though in Johns Gospel he gives voice to the most profound statement of faith in the New Testament, My Lord and my God, the first word that comes to mind for most of us on hearing his name is doubtingdoubting Thomas. We forget his courageous response when J

We thought we knew him, with that searching unsettling gaze of his, the man with a peasant face who became the master of light and shadow, saturated color and probing psychology. The guises in which he presented himself varied greatly: here as a soldier, there as a prince, now as a beggar or as a ki

Larry and Donna Smith had it good. He worked as an engineer, she as a newspaper editor. They had a happy family and their health—the middle-class American dream. Then Donna was diagnosed with cancer; and Larry had a heart attack, and then another, and another. And the real nightmare began. Alt

During the 2004 election campaigns, the U.S. bishops’ statement on political responsibility, Faithful Citizenship, came in for considerable criticism among a vocal segment of conservative Catholics. They believed that the document diluted the pro-life message of the church by not emphasizing i