Perspective
Mary: queen mother of our souls
Mother of Jesus is one of the most common titles given to Mary. It holds the basic truth of her identity but is also the key to an often-forgotten, feast […]
Columns Archive
Perspective
Let action speak
In a previous column, I spoke of the shame and scourge of inaction as a tragedy greater than the racial injustice and brutality we have witnessed. As a counterpoint, this […]
Columns
Making the most of masking, Catholic style
Cloth face masks: They’re the unexpected fashion trend of 2020. We’re making them, we’re buying them, we’re wearing them (hopefully). TV news reporters and members of Congress have such perfectly […]
The Sunday Gospel
The Lord welcomes all who come to Him
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 […]
A more human society
Catholics in America
“A state need not subsidize private education. But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.” So said the Supreme […]
The Sunday Gospel
God’s ways are not our ways
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 14:22-33 The First Book of Kings is the source of this weekend’s first reading. The two Books of Kings highlight the kings of the […]
Perspective
On the truest source of our dignity
One of our deeper wounds is that we tend to doubt our dignity, especially in times of trouble. We look to human being who are fickle for a sense of […]
Perspective
How to intimately learn Catholicism
Fifteen years after Richard Louv’s bestseller “The Last Child in the Woods” was published, it is more relevant than ever. I’m fascinated by his insights on the “nature-deficit disorder” ailing […]
Perspective
Mass in three dimensions once again
Have you started going back to Mass yet? Recently I went to my first Mass in three months. I had been watching Masses livestreamed weekly, but of course it didn’t […]
The Sunday Gospel
God provides abundantly and completely through Jesus
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 14:13-21 The last and third section of the Book of Isaiah is the source of this weekend’s first reading. The first section of Isaiah […]
Perspective
Laughing over God’s good plans
Andy was my sister’s friend. I’d see him from time to time when I came home from college. Nice kid. One summer my parish needed an interim youth minister, so […]
Perspective
Language — veiling or unveiling moral truth?
To sanction or encourage certain wrongful actions, it is often necessary to manipulate language. The plain meaning of words can get in the way of convincing others they should tolerate […]