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Independence Day is an American federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Studying the Declaration of Independence can motivate us to reflect upon the meaning of freedom and independence.
We Catholics believe that our independence and freedom are rooted in our dependence upon God. Our dependence upon God is clearly stated in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence.
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With great profit and pleasure I’m currently reading Alec Ryrie’s new book Protestants: The Faith that Made the Modern World. Among the many texts appearing in this year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Ryrie’s stands out for its verve, clarity, and historical sweep.
In some ways, it is an answer to Brad Gregory’s The Unintended Reformation, though it lacks the intellectual depth and thoroughness of Gregory’s magisterial study. What has so far intrigued me most of all in Ryrie’s book is his portrait of the undisputed father of the Reformation, Martin Luther.
There is a crackle glass bowl in our living room, a decorative bowl we set out for special occasions. It’s stunning, with hand-painted designs in bright colors.
Running through the entire piece are tiny cracks, hairline fissures in the clear glass that forms the bowl. When light shines through it, however, those cracks make the bowl shine more magnificently than before.
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Robert Cardinal Sarah’s recent book The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise explores a number of themes both theological and spiritual, all centering around the unhappy role that noise has come to play in our culture and more specifically in the Church.
His observations are most trenchant in regard to the liturgy, which should come as no great surprise, given his role as head of the Vatican Congregation devoted to liturgy and sacraments. As I read the sections of his book dealing with the importance of silence during Mass, I often found myself nodding vigorously.
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One of the greatest privileges I have as a bishop is the opportunity to preside at the Sacrament of Confirmation. A drawback, however, is that I am obligated to conduct over 40 Confirmations in roughly a two month period — which means that I become tired, rather quickly, of my own homily!
As a result, I’m frequently shifting gears, trying out new ideas, looking at the complex phenomenon of Confirmation from a variety of angles. I want to share with you in this article some of the key ideas in the latest iteration of my Confirmation sermon.
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After the 13 Reasons Why debut that dramatizes the reasons behind one teen girl’s suicide, there has been a significant amount of discussion regarding teenage suicide and preventing such actions.
Some authors have debated whether or not the Netflix series will harm or help adolescents when navigating both their own and their peers’ feelings regarding this important topic.
Here, however, I wish to discuss ways that you can identify whether or not your teen (or an adolescent you know) is at risk for taking their life, and then what you can do to help.
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In Vietnam, Brian Rooney, an Army medic, knelt to read a dying soldier’s dog tags. As he did, the soldier whispered, “Remember me.” Rooney promised that he would remember him.
He certainly did. According to the May 23, 2003, Los Angeles Daily News, Brian Rooney spent thousands of his dollars and hundreds of hours memorializing and remembering America’s war dead.
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This past week, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady to a group of shepherd children near the Portuguese town of Fatima. The series of Fatima appearances — lasting from May until October of 1917 — is one of the most extraordinary in the history of the Church.
It has also beguiled political and cultural commentators outside the ambit of the Church, and it is this wider implication that I would like to explore.
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I have always loved the Acts of the Apostles and have often recommended it to those who are approaching the Bible for the first time. Filled with colorful narratives, adventure, martyrdom, persecution, journeys by sea, etc., it makes for stimulating reading indeed.
But I love it especially because it shows us the excitement of being a follower of Jesus. Long before there were parishes and dioceses and the Vatican and other institutional structures, there was this band of brothers and sisters who were so overwhelmed and energized by the fact of the resurrection that they went careening around the world and to their deaths with the message of Jesus.
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On January 7, 2015, during his general audience, Pope Francis lamented how mothers are often under-appreciated.
The pope stated, “To be a mother is a great treasure. Mothers, in their unconditional, sacrificial love for their children, are the antidote to individualism. They are the greatest enemies against war.”
