The Religious Dimensions of Life
An important debate carried on among 20th-century Catholic theologians, from Henri de Lubac and Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange to Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar, concerned the relationship between nature and gracethe very intersection between the human and the divine. Despite Catholicism’s
Presence, Not Presents
The fluorescent pink parking ticket lay on the seat between us. My recently licensed son had forgotten to move the car off the street into our driveway and had now received notice of his first parking violation. As his mother left for work that morning, she pointed out to him: It was your responsibi
Crossing the Border
Yolanda González and Hermilo Hernández Velasco grew up in families of subsistence-level farmers in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. After they married, Hermilo traveled to the United States and found work as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Portland, Ore. In May of 2000, Yolanda, 19 years old, hired a
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
East Harlem stands out as one of the poorest sections of Manhattan, where a faith-based organization—the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service (www.littlesistersfamily.org)—has been helping families cope with poverty-related problems for four decades. “Our mission
Letters
Letters
Church Blessed
The editorial on Ordaining Gay Men (11/11) does not want to come to grips with the fact that the overwhelming number of priestly sexual abuse cases that have come to light have been committed by gays. It does no one any good to pretend there isn’t a problem here. This does not, however, mean…
Editorials
Prisoners and the Right to Vote
Whether they exercised it in the fall elections or not, most citizens of the United States took it for granted that they had the right to cast a vote on Nov. 5. But for close to four million people with felony convictions, no such right existed, because almost all states have disenfranchisement laws
Faith in Focus
Waiting on Church Street
For me, that January day in 1999 ended as it had begun, pushing my way through crowds to the subway platform and onto the Metro car, closing my eyes, waiting for my stop. As I ascended the escalator into the winter twilight of Washington’s Dupont Circle, I set eyes on a “Missing” f
Books
Denying Mistakes
There are not many memoirs available from people who work beneath the surface of the executive branch of the federal government Usually presidents vice presidents cabinet secretaries and White House staffers publish such accounts Daniel Ellsberg rsquo s reflections however illuminate the tasks
Resurrection in a Small Town
For those familiar with the novels of Jon Hassler coming to his newest novel The Staggerford Flood will be a series of surprise reunions Which is perhaps part of his purpose For The Staggerford Flood is also a series of surprise reunions for the novel rsquo s chief character Agatha McGee th
Look and See!
Six years ago the dominant mantra sounded ldquo End welfare as we have known it rdquo Progressive and religious voices however challenged this slogan seeking to replace it with ldquo end poverty as we have known it rdquo What has the welfare reform legislation of 1996 done to poverty How
Film
Facades: Far From Heaven
The rituals of the suburban cocktail party play out predictably. Sometime during the late afternoon, amid the gleaming borrowed chafing dishes and the fluttering corporate wives, one of the guests, grown progressively less inhibited through drink, raises a glass to toast the beautiful hostess. She s
The Word
The People Who Walk Upside Down
The Third Sunday of Advent invites us into a world of reversals.
Columns
True Detachment
I had grandiose expectations for a recent reunion with my five closest friends. Nearly 20 years in the making, the gathering was both less and more than I had imagined. Two of my favorite texts inspired my anticipation and now give shape to my reflection on the event—T. S. Eliot’s poem Four Quartets and Thomas…
Faith
The People Who Walk Upside Down
The Third Sunday of Advent invites us into a world of reversals.
News
Signs of the Times
Christians, Churches Attacked in Rioting Over Miss World PageantAt least 215 people were reported killed (as of Nov. 25), during riots in Kaduna, Nigeria, sparked by a newspaper article about the Miss World pageant, reports Emmanuel Ijewere, president of the Nigerian Red Cross. About 12,000 people h
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts