Author: Chris Lee

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Chris Lee

St. Padre Pio: Fascinating and frightening

Fr. Steve Grunow

There is a text that has become standard for the study of religious experience and phenomena by Rudolph Otto entitled, The Idea of the Holy.

In this book, Otto uses the phrase tremendum et fascinans (roughly translated as “fear and fascination”) to indicate what it means to encounter sacred realities.

The sacred, be it a place, person, or thing, can evoke the frightening, but still remain attractive, compelling. The holy is terrifying, yet at the same time, irresistible. I have always found Padre Pio as a kind of embodiment of Otto’s principle.

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Chris Lee

Pride meets humility in the quiet of the desert

On the First Sunday of Lent, in all three liturgical years of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we’re confronted with the account of Our Lord’s temptation in the desert by the devil.

This is a beautiful text, because in a way the history of the world was played out in a quiet desert, away from the busy cities, between God-made-man and the fallen angel.

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Chris Lee

Let us choose a fruitful Lenten penance

Years ago a priest walked through a dark alley in a dangerous part of town. Suddenly a robber emerged from the darkness and pointed a gun at his back.

“Your money or your life,” the robber ordered. The priest turned to give the robber his money.

The robber recognized that he was a priest by his Roman collar and exclaimed, “Oh Father, I didn’t know it was you! I would never rob a priest!”

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Chris Lee

St. Frances: Finding God through your family

Word on Fire
Brandon Vogt

The Church faced serious problems when Frances Bussa was born in 1384. The papacy had fallen under the influence of the French crown and had developed a reputation for corruption.

Worse, in 1378 a majority of bishops elected a new pope, Robert of Geneva, even though a legitimate pope already reigned, which launched the Great Schism of the West.

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Chris Lee

Eucharistic ministers evangelize by bringing Communion to nursing homes

To the editor:

Eucharistic ministers can help to save souls by bringing Communion to nursing homes. Most Catholics think that evangelization means “bringing people to Jesus,” but in a real sense, it includes “bringing the body of Jesus to people.”

This form of evangelization is becoming more important because we have an aging population, with nursing homes becoming a growing part of many communities.

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Chris Lee

National Council of Catholic Women saddened by abortion legislation

To the editor:

It is with profound sadness that the National Council of Catholic Women contemplates the passage of the late term abortion legislation in New York now being promoted in other states of our country.

The act of killing a child at any stage of life is unconscionable, but killing a baby about to be born into the world that could even be in the birth canal or partially delivered can be considered as nothing more than a barbaric act unworthy of this great nation, a nation that noted the right to life in our Declaration of Independence.

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Chris Lee

Sanctity and scandal: One priest’s views

Fr. Steve Grunow

Paul Senz of Our Sunday Visitor recently interviewed Word on Fire CEO Fr. Steve Grunow for an article on how priests are reacting to the sexual abuse scandals. Below is an edited version of the interview. The entire interview can be found at: https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/sanctity-or-scandal-an-interview-with-fr-steve-grunow/5961/

OSV: Please tell your vocation story.

FS: My vocation to the priesthood arose out of the conviction, born of an act of faith, that since God in Christ gave his life for me and did so without qualification or reservation, the proper response in faith to his gift is to offer my whole life to him.

OSV: What are your thoughts about the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report?

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Chris Lee

Continue to make voices heard for unborn babies

To the editor:

Thanks to the Catholic Herald team for your outstanding coverage of the annual pro-life marches in Madison, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Our family was pleased to join hundreds of others from the diocese in participating in these important events, providing a countercultural voice on behalf of the most defenseless in our society. Special thanks to Diocese of Madison for their leadership in making our local march a success!

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