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During the course of pregnancy, receiving an adverse prenatal diagnosis can be a tremendously jolting experience for parents. In severe cases, physicians may tell them that their unborn child has a condition that is “incompatible with life.”
Category: Columns
The welcome outreach of perinatal hospice
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During the course of pregnancy, receiving an adverse prenatal diagnosis can be a tremendously jolting experience for parents. In severe cases, physicians may tell them that their unborn child has a condition that is “incompatible with life.”
The artistry of loving your enemies
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Following is the homily Msgr. James Bartylla preached on Sunday, Feb. 24, for the Cistercian Sisters, Prairie du Sac .
The message of Christ in the Gospel for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, to love one’s enemies and bless those who curse you, is as challenging and mysterious to us today as it was in Jesus’ time. That challenge and mystery stems from both divine and human elements.
Focusing on the present this Lent
“Mom, can I get a Minecraft Lego set for my birthday?”
My son’s eyes were wide with hope and anticipation and all seriousness. But, smiling, I had to hide a laugh and shake my head.
His birthday was six months away.
St. Padre Pio: Fascinating and frightening
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| 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.
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.
Let us choose a fruitful Lenten penance
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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!”
‘Exceptions’ and undermining moral law
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Whenever we make small exceptions to universal moral rules, we shouldn’t be surprised that the rules themselves can be quickly undermined.
Establishing an “exception” in one case makes people think they’re due an exemption for their case as well. Certain norms of moral behavior, however, do not admit of any exceptions, and we risk undermining morality altogether if we don’t recognize them. Moral norms governing the protection of human life are one such example.
St. Frances: Finding God through your family
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Word on Fire |
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.
Sanctity and scandal: One priest’s views
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| 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?