We are pleased to present below all posts archived in 'May 2011'. If you still can't find what you are looking for, try using the search box.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Centesimus Annus, arguably the greatest document in Pope John Paul II's magnificent body of writings.
Expectations for the encyclical were at first modest. Popes had written encyclicals of Church social teaching to mark the 40th, 70th, 80th and 90th anniversaries of Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.
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God is non-violent. God does not prescribe violence. Violence should never be rationalized in God's name. That is clear in Christian revelation. But that immediately poses the question: What about the violence in Scripture that is attributed to God or to God's direct orders?
Truth will out! And few better places for such an admission than in the text of an essay on the readings for Sunday Mass, you might say. Not a great truth though — merely an acknowledgement of a temptation to write a most trite introduction, "The feast of Ascension commemorates one of the most remarkable events in the life of Jesus."
Fish 'n chips, anyone? It's either that or, given the preponderance of Indian takeout in England today, vegetable samosas and prawn curry for Catholics on Friday come this fall.
There is a saying in ethics that people might have capacity for making decisions, but have poor judgment. Anyone having raised teenagers will know the truth of this statement, perhaps recalling some of their children's past decisions when good judgment was lacking.
It was a great joy to have Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, give four public talks at St. Joseph Basilica earlier this month. But please permit this writer to express a minor disappointment that Cantamalessa was not able to speak on the topic for which he has been a guiding light over the past 20 years — the renewal of ourselves and our Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
There are more ways than one in which our belief system can be unbalanced so as to do harm to God and to the Church.
What makes for a healthy, balanced, orthodox faith? The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church defines orthodoxy as "right belief as contrasted to heresy." That's accurate enough, but we tend to think of this in a one-sided way.
Psalm 66 says, "All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." Can you and I imagine what this would look like? All the earth worshiping and praising the Lord in song. People of every race, creed and nation giving unhindered glory to God.
The city council of Rockford, Ill., was recently asked to vote on whether to allow a mobile ultrasound van to park near a local abortion clinic. It would offer free ultrasound services to women about to enter the Northern Illinois Women's Center.
In the Gospels, the women searching for Jesus in the tomb are told: "Go, tell." At the end of Mass, the priest says: "Go." Is there any connection?