Lately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been very disappointing in its actions, especially in regards the ways its leadership has worked to undermines its programs for the poor, peace, and social justice. Yes, there is more to the faith than being a charitable organization, but faith without works is dead. Scripture not only calls us to be concerned for the poor, for those who are suffering at the hands of structures of sin in society, but... Read more
While “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever” (Heb. 13:8 RSV), our understanding and relationship with Jesus is in constant flux. That is because we are temporal beings who are constantly changing, and as we change, we will find our ways of engaging Jesus, and what we learn from that engagement, changes. Hopefully, we will find ourselves attaining greater and greater insight into who he is. This often means we will have to take what we... Read more
Christian Scripture offers us a glimpse of what is to be in the eschaton, sometimes in ways which appear to be contradictory, which is why there are various, often contradictory, interpretations and beliefs concerning it. Some Christians believe that Scripture indicates that those who are not “saved” will be annihilated (a view, to be sure, repudiated by most Christian traditions). Most Christians believe that everyone will be brought back to life in a general resurrection from the dead, whereupon everyone... Read more
In the introduction to the book I am currently reading, Prayer of the Heart, the author, Fr. George Maloney, a writer I greatly respect for his knowledge and wisdom, wrote something which I found to be greatly mistaken: Only a human person, of all God’s material creatures, has the ability to stand on the mountaintop of his or her consciousness and ask the why and where of human existence. Why have I been created? Where is my life going? Where... Read more
Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies. We let our worst thoughts get the best of us. We find ourselves becoming stuck in a bad headspace, and when that happens, we don’t know what to do to get out of it. This is especially true with those who are actively striving for perfection in their lives. They think all they should be doing is wrestling with all their temptations, and the thoughts which generate them, but in doing so, they... Read more
Christianity is meant to be the religion of love, a religion whose adherents follow the way set by Christ in his ministry, a way which includes helping those in need. Paul, therefore, tells us that those who are “strong” are to take care of the “weak,” instead of merely focusing on their own wants and desires at the expense of others: We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let... Read more
John tells us that God is love, “Ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν” (1 Jn. 4:16). The love known as ἀγάπη (agape) or caritas in Latin is translated into English as love or charity; the original word suggests both at once, not just one or the other, so when we read translations from Scripture or various patristic and medieval sources which talk about love or charity, we should keep this connotation in mind. Agape love is a love which has us treat... Read more
I’m an avid reader. I love to read (but, like most things, how great that love is waxes and wanes, as sometimes I read something which completely enchants me and I can’t wait to read more, and at other times, I find what I am reading not so exciting, making it difficult to reading, that is, when I think there is a good reason to do so). I try to read at least an hour every day. I consider doing... Read more
We can learn much from those who came before us. But, to do so properly, we must be willing to be critical, and examine what they said and did instead of merely accepting it all. We must engage them, willing to learn from their wisdom and knowledge, but also, we must be willing to distance ourselves from what they said which has since been proven false or unwise. We should not expect anyone to be perfect. We can appreciate from... Read more
I was not surprised with the decisions made by the United States Supreme Court last week (the week of June 16 – 22 2024); indeed, I expected them based upon the known ideological influences affecting most of its current members. They have proven themselves to hold no consistent hermeneutic by which they decide their cases, which is why precedent means nothing to them; rather, they have a conclusion which they want to reach, and will justify it any way they... Read more
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