The Human Condition
Some takeaways from Tolkien
I have to confess, with some embarrassment, that one of my human deficiencies is that while I read quite a lot, I am not much of a fiction reader. So, […]
The Human Condition Archive
The Human Condition
Beloved sons and daughters
The evangelist St. Luke, in his account of the Gospel that bears his name, makes a point of noting that, in the midst of his intensely active ministry, Jesus frequently […]
Columns
Called to be critics, rebels and saints
The following is the commencement address given by Msgr. Michael Heintz at the graduation ceremony of Marian High School, Mishawaka, his alma mater, on June 2. High school commencement addresses […]
The Human Condition
Counting ‘The Twelve’
Jesus had numerous disciples; some of them known to us, most of them lost to history but not to the mind of God. From among those disciples (literally, “learners,” or […]
The Human Condition
The Eucharist at the heart of the faith
In early Christian mystical theology, drawing on the Platonic tradition, there was an aphorism commonly used by spiritual writers: “you become the object of your contemplation.” That is, whatever we […]
The Human Condition
On orthodoxy
Orthodoxy is a multivalent term. It can refer in a more restricted or special sense to our brothers and sisters in the Eastern churches, and is often associated with particular […]
The Human Condition
On ‘Spirituality’
“Spirituality” or being “spiritual” means nothing more, but also nothing less, than being animated and guided by the Spirit of the Lord that is received at baptism. This is what […]
The Human Condition
The value – and necessity – of petitionary prayer
In the 10th chapter of St Mark’s Gospel, Jesus encounters a blind man called Bartimaeus who sat begging at the roadside. Jesus asks him “What do you want me to […]