Crown of the Year
Resurrection seems an unlikely notion for contemporary minds. Creation is much easier for us to understand, given its prevalence in naturethe caterpillar and the butterfly, the seed and the plant, the bud and the rose. But Easter is more than the scent of lilies and the rolling of eggs or the genera
Seeing, Tasting, Telling
As the gray days of winter move toward spring, Jews and Christians begin to prepare for their festivals of rebirth and freedom: Passover and Easter. Since the Second Vatican Council’s publication of the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions in 1965, many Chri
A Perfect End
Catherine Mowry LaCugna chose to teach her theology courses for the spring semester of 1997 knowing that she might die within the year. By April she was considerably weaker, but she completed the semester, teaching her last classes at the University of Notre Dame on Tuesday, April 29. On Thursday sh
In a Single Bed
All of them were small and narrow, Emily Dickinson beds situated in modest rooms. Once I journeyed to Amherst, Mass., solely to see Emily Dickinson’s bedroom, to breathe the sacred air. As luck would have it, I had come the wrong day for tours and was left on the stoop of the Homestead, breathing the…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Months ago a friend sent me an article from The Atlanta Constitution (10/22/06) about a man whose family I knew well when we all lived together at Koinonia Farm in Americus, Ga. Today Koinonia is known as the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity, but a generation ago it suffered the bitter distinction
Letters
Letters
The Divide
After reading Terry Golway’s column Renew-ing Theology on Tap (3/12), I hope my experience with our local program is not typical. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati sponsors a Theology on Tap program, which last summer was meeting in my neighborhood in Covington, Ky., a city across the river. Mine is a diverse inner-city neighborhood, and…
Editorials
Washington and Schools
As presidents, neither George Washington nor Abraham Lincoln spent time worrying about schools. Since the Constitution did not assign care for education to the federal government, that became the states’ concern. Until after the Civil War, however, the states pretty much left it to families an
Faith in Focus
The Resurrection of the Body
Please stop being Gnostic. Yes, you, the person reading these words. You’re bringing me downliterally. You see, I had hoped after death to rise. Physically. I hope very much the church’s constant teaching is true: that at the end of time, we’ll be raised bodily. The resurrection of
Books
Holy,’ Indeed
Christian tradition has not been kind to the Jewish claim to the land of Israel For many of the fathers of the church the fact that Rome had invaded that land and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem A D 70 seemed to be an objective marker of divine disfavor Already in the fourth century John…
Fragile Overtures
Back in 1978 on the way to his bar mitzvah a funny thing happened to Jeffrey Goldberg now Washington correspondent for The New Yorker he started to become a passionate Zionist His assimilated secular left-wing and soon to be divorced parents thought they could avoid the predictable alrightn
Journey Toward Peace
A gem among the sayings of the desert fathers has Abba Lot coming to Abba Joseph and saying As much as I am able I keep my little rule and my fast my prayer meditation my contemplative silence And as much as possible I strive to keep my thoughts clean What more should I do…
The Word
The Pivotal Day
Easter is the pivotal day in the Christian calendar As Paul wrote ldquo If Christ has not been raised your faith is vain you are still in your sins rdquo 1 Cor 15 17 At the heart of Christian faith is the paschal mystery mdash Jesus rsquo life death and resurrection some 2 000 years…
Columns
Cleansing the Soul
Public apologies are all the rage these days, so much so that it’s hard to find a celebrity or newsmaker who hasn’t visited the high priests of the secular confessional, Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, to beg for forgiveness for some petty offense. But the trend is hardly limited to indivi
Current Comment
Current Comment
Double StandardsZimbabwe is a failed state. Its strongman, Robert Mugagbe, has ruled since 1980; and his Big Man style of governance has turned a country that was once the breadbasket of southern Africa into a hungry wasteland. He drove off white settler-farmers, allegedly to redistribute the land t
Faith
The Most Infallible Sign
Are joy, humor and laughter considered inappropriate for serious Catholics? If so, why?
News
Signs of the Times
Pope, Putin Discuss Catholic-Orthodox Relations Pope Benedict XVI and President Vladimir Putin of Russia spent 25 minutes speaking privately March 13, discussing Catholic-Orthodox relations and ways to strengthen the relationship between the Vatican and the Russian government. Although two translato
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts