I imagine that must have been the reaction of the Apostles after witnessing the miracle of the deaf and mute man we read in this Sunday’s Gospel. Although Mark relates that Jesus took the man off by himself from the crowd, I am certain that the apostles watched from a distance.
Author: settinger
Church to Ask Youth What They Think
by Brother Javier Hansen, F.S.C.
THE APPROACHING SYNOD on “Young people, faith and vocational discernment” next month in Rome is of huge importance to the Church. If you had told me the role I would be playing in this task a year ago, I would not have believed you.
When Hard Conversations Have to Happen
“I wish we didn’t have to talk about this.” What parent hasn’t thought or uttered these words, taking a deep breath before jumping into a hard conversation with their child? Whether a crisis at home, a conflict at school or an atrocity in the news, tough subjects are unavoidable in families.
Stand with Peter
The fierce debate that is being waged in the Church about whether Pope Francis enabled a wayward cardinal to continue to be part of church life has less to do about specific instances and more to do with the direction that the Church is heading. There is all-out war going on in ecclesiastical ranks between liberals who love where Pope Francis is taking the Church and conservatives who consider his thinking to be anathema.
Racist Implications?
Dear Editor: Just read “Sessions on Racism” and “Bishop’s Letter on Racism” (June 23 issue) and I have just one comment. The latter states that “the document will focus on concerns affecting Native Americans and African-Americans and the ‘targeting’ of Hispanics.” I get the implication that all other ethnic groups are the ones doing the ‘sinning!’ How racist is that?
Consistent with Christ
Dear Editor: I was very impressed with Mary Grace Donohoe’s letter “Grappling with Human Dignity” (Aug. 18). This young person has a simple, yet very strong grasp of the conundrums of various issues desperately facing our world today, for instance, being pro-life, but not being amenable to taxes that can support our poor and disenfranchised.
A Gift of Grace
Dear Editor: Just a note to say that I sent in some summer book suggestions and The Tablet shared them. A few weeks later, I get an email to thank me for one of the books I suggested. The book was “How The Light Gets In,” by Brian Doyle – who wrote a lot for Orbis Press – a writer and a poet, a very spiritual man.
A Brooklyn Connection?
Dear Editor: The article “Civil Rights Road Trip,”(Aug. 25) chronicling the pilgrimage of Brooklyn priest Father John Gribowich to sites associated with the history of America’s civil rights movement, is illustrated by a couple-of-stories-tall “mural of social justice figures in Memphis, Tenn.” apparently on a factory or warehouse wall.
More to Being a Deacon
Dear Editor: As a deacon for over 31 years, I can honestly say that there is more to serving as a deacon than what Deacon Ferrari wrote (“Is There a Need for Permanent Deacons?” Aug. 18).
No Limits on McDermott
Dear Editor: Mike Mastromatteo’s appreciation of Alice McDermott (Aug. 18) is right on the mark. If the author (or any artist) resents being pigeon-holed as Catholic, Irish, or whatever – remember the awful phrase “lady novelist”? – it is not so much that she denies her roots as that she rightly deplores the condescension that would limit the significance of her work.