Perspective
‘Totus, Totus, Totus!’: A Reminder and a Correction
Allow me to start this column repeating three times a word many Catholics know or have heard: “totus, totus, totus.” It means “everyone” – no exceptions. It evokes wholeness and […]
Columns Archive
Perspective
God Shows Mercy to All Who Believe
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 15:21-28 The third section of the Book of Isaiah provides this weekend’s liturgy with its first reading. Understanding this part of Isaiah requires some […]
Perspective
When it Comes to Homilies, we Can do Better
I suffered through another mission homily recently. Like almost all the mission and aid appeals I’ve heard over the past several years, it did not slay. This despite the fact […]
Perspective
Listening? Catechizing? The Balancing Act of Accompaniment
The Catholic Church is facing a crisis of faith among young people. In recent years, there has been a steady decline in the number of young people who identify as […]
Perspective
We Can Become Models of the Lord’s Glory in Our Lives
Transfiguration of the Lord Matthew 17:1-9 This weekend, the Church invites us to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The first reading is from the Book of […]
Perspective
When Our Heroes Let Us Down
My wife took Christ off our living room wall the other day. It was a postcard image of a mosaic created by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik. She couldn’t bear to […]
Perspective
Are These the End Times? What the Catechism Says
The Catholic approach to the end times is different from that in certain (but not all) Protestant circles, especially the Evangelicals, who have a strong and often vivid preoccupation with […]
Perspective
‘Fully Alive’: The Summertime Invitation to Glorify God
The idea came on my birthday, one of those fully formed thoughts that arrives unbidden, a cerebral click. The day began with a brief summer rain, and a chill still […]
Perspective
‘Bluey’ Is Teaching Me to Be a Better Catholic Parent
During the COVID pandemic, my husband and I took turns watching “Cocomelon” with the then two-year-old. A brightly colored show with apparently animatronic humans singing not quite catchy (nor easily […]
Perspective
World Youth Day Is About Christ or It Is About Nothing at All
World Youth Day (WYD) brings together young people from every corner of the globe to celebrate their Catholic faith. Away from home and buoyed by the witness of their peers, […]
Perspective
The Most Profound of Truths Are Seen Only Through God
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 11:25-30 This weekend, the first biblical reading is from the Book of Zechariah. Zechariah was of the priestly caste and was born in Babylon. […]
Perspective
The Longing of Creation to Be Set Free
St. Paul speaks of the longing of creation to be set free. He almost personifies creation: For indeed, creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be […]