For us diehard baseball fans, Ángel Hernández’s retirement should not be a moment to revisit his past errors and sneer. Instead, it is a chance to express mercy in a world that, as Pope Francis reminds us, is in dire need of it.
Gregory Hillis
Gregory Hillis is executive director of the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. He is the author of Man of Dialogue: Thomas Merton's Catholic Vision, published by Liturgical Press.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
I’ve always loved relics. After my cancer diagnosis, they mean even more to me.
Our theology of relics tells us something beautiful and profound not only about God but about what we believe about materiality itself.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
How Julian of Norwich’s writings on suffering have helped me as a cancer patient
“If we come to understand that God suffers alongside us as one who truly knows what it means to suffer, our anger morphs into love and our suffering mysteriously becomes a means of transformation.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Remembering Thomas Merton—and his book that changed my life
‘The Seven Storey Mountain,’ a book whose 75th anniversary is celebrated this month, is widely considered a spiritual classic, and it continues to find new readers every year.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Vatican II: Rupture or reform?
George Weigel’s new book, ‘To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II,’ is a defense of the council against those who think it created a rupture with tradition (for better or for worse).
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The case against confirming baptized Christians at the Easter Vigil
To receive already baptized Christians into the church at the vigil may be well-intentioned, but liturgically speaking, it is akin to suggesting that the candidates were not actually Christians before being received into the church.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Take me out to the ballgame: The majesty (and agony) of playoff baseball
Live baseball is more sublime and spiritually satisfying than any other sporting event—even when your team loses.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Thomas Merton can still teach us a lot about nuclear war
Faced with anxieties we have not experienced since the Cold War, perhaps it is time to return to Thomas Merton’s writings on nuclear weapons and the Christian responsibility to advocate for peace in a nuclear age.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk who Thomas Merton called a brother
Thich Nhat Hanh, who died on Jan. 21, had a profound influence on Thomas Merton, who said, “I have far more in common with Nhat Hanh than I have with many Americans, and I do not hesitate to say it.”
Posted inFaith, Short Take
I love Pope Francis’ commitment to dialogue—which is why his Latin Mass restrictions confuse me
Do the new restrictions on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass increase our unity? Or do they sacrifice unity for uniformity?