Time and Transcendence
Although more than 25 years have passed, the joy I felt at Christmas in Calcutta remains more vivid than any other memory of this season. I was ending what Jesuits call the long experiment of tertianship, that third year of novitiate tacked on to the end of our training. My days had been spent offer
Grass-Roots Christian Peacebuilders
The wars that have most deeply scarred recent history have not been wars between national states. Internal conflicts killed far more people during the 20th century than international ones like the First and Second World Wars. In a deadly dynamic, government and government-allied forces have wiped ou
Has the Vatican Changed Its Position on Iraq?
During the countdown early this year to the war in Iraq, Pope John Paul II and his Vatican aides wasted no opportunity to broadcast their opposition to a U.S.-led invasion. They warned that besides being unjust, an invasion would be counterproductiveit would leave many dead and wounded, destroy Iraq
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Rockefeller Center—there it is, only six blocks south of America House. I often pass through it just to savor the plaza’s open space, carved out oasis-like from the surrounding tall buildings in congested New York City. The sunken section of the plaza is transformed into a skating rink a
Letters
Letters
False Problems?
Frederick W. Gluck’s article, Crisis Management in the Church (12/1), is flawed by several statements that are not supported by the available data.
The church’s traditional sources of revenues are drying up. Some weeks ago I finished writing a report that analyzed contributions to Sunday collections and diocesan annual appeals in the years 2001 and…
Editorials
Christmas 2003
As we retell the Bethlehem story each year, its familiarity can obscure one of its most important lessons. We do not celebrate at Christmas some timeless truth or immutable dogma but a particular moment. “A decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was
Faith in Focus
Remembering the Christmas traditions of my family and the Holy Family
When I think about the Holy Family I remember other holy families as well, the ones who brought me up in the faith, who showed me how to love and who taught me how to celebrate Christmas.
The Salvation of Particulars
It started months ago. Weeks before the autumnal equinox, long before the first frost, pumpkins began appearing in the lobby of my apartment building. Bedecked with straw hats and carved faces, they crowded our entryway and clustered around mailboxes, announcing the arrival of fall. In short order,
Books
A Clash of Ideas and Beliefs
What was going on in the Christian movement between the writing of the New Testament books and the Council of Nicea in A D 325 From well-marketed books and television programs that promise alternative visions of Christianity it seems that in this period there was great diversity in theology and p
Unbounded Creativity
ldquo Albion rdquo is a magic a mythic word It is the primal name of England itself and also of its whole island It is the Celtic Albio and the Gaelic Alba Its root-syllable alb ldquo white rdquo catches the whiteness of Dover rsquo s cliffs and suggests a pristine purity or blankness It
A Precarious Little Way
Along with Francis of Assisi Th r se of Lisieux ranks among the most venerated and popular Catholic saints and commands an impressive following that includes those with no religious faith or affiliation Th r se rsquo s life writings and reputation have prompted countless works in print rangi
The Word
Honor Life in Its Early Years and in Its Decline
Honor thy father and thy mother rdquo We all know the Fourth Commandment We learned it as children and we may think that it was intended for children It was but probably more for adult children than for younger ones The Commandments were part of God rsquo s covenant pact made with the Israeli
What Child Is This?
Did Mary understand how amazing her child was Does any mother We love our children and celebrate every little thing about them but no one really knows the potential hidden deep within that squirming bundle of humanity True whenever a child is born there are always those who gather around and m
You Light Up My Life!
We have just passed the winter solstice the shortest day of the year We will now enjoy a little more light each day Christmas itself is a feast of lights Trees are brought into homes and made radiant with brilliant lights yards are also illumined In other ways too our lives are aglow with lig
Faith
Remembering the Christmas traditions of my family and the Holy Family
When I think about the Holy Family I remember other holy families as well, the ones who brought me up in the faith, who showed me how to love and who taught me how to celebrate Christmas.
News
Signs of the Times
Iraqi Archbishop Calls for More U.N., Arab InvolvementArchbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman of Baghdad said the answer to Iraq’s problems is not a hasty U.S. military pullout, but greater involvement by the United Nations and Arab countries. A sudden withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces would be a
Ethical Analysis and the Facts
Irresponsible
In the column Food for Terri Schiavo (ethics notebook, 11/24), John F. Kavanaugh, S.J., notes that some assertions made about Terri Schiavo’s actual condition seem to be irresponsible. We believe that some of his assertions are also irresponsible.
Without acknowledging that the Second District Court of Appeal, in Lakeland, Fla., published an opinion containing findings of…
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts