In his excellent essay in the November issue of Commonweal magazine, Father Robert Imbelli argues persuasively that to challenge the frightening reality that only 31% of American Catholics believe in the Real Presence and also the disappointing truth that large numbers of Catholics no longer celebrate Sunday Eucharistic celebrations, we need what he refers to as a Eucharistic strategy.
Arts and Culture
Fr. Robert Lauder is a philosophy professor at St. John’s University and the author of “Pope Francis’ Spirituality and Our Story” (Resurrection Press).
Being a Member of Christ’s Body To Improve the Faith
I have been so impressed by Father Robert Imbelli’s essay in the November, 2021 issue of Commonweal, that I have been discussing it with friends, both priests and lay people.
Catholics Must Have a Eucharistic Mentality
In the September issue of Commonweal magazine Peter Steinfels had a marvelous essay entitled “Separate Challenges,” dealing with the meaning of the Eucharist and what the American bishops should do to meet the crisis — and indeed it is a crisis — about the large number of Catholics who do not believe in the Real Presence of the Risen Christ in the Eucharist and about the large number of Catholics who regularly miss the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist.
Thinking About God As a Pure Self-Gift
I wonder if readers of this column grew up with the same understanding of the Old and New Testaments that I grew up with, which was really a misunderstanding. I thought of the God of the Old Testament as a God of anger and the God of the New Testament as a God of love.
Catholic Librarians and Life’s Great Mysteries
Back in August, I was invited to deliver the opening address at the annual conference of Catholic librarians on Oct. 21. The talk was to be delivered on Zoom which I had only done once previously.
A Modern Missionary
Before starting to write this column I looked at two books written by Sister Ave Clark, O.P.: “A Heart of Courage: The Ordinary and Extraordinary Becoming Holy”. The second book, which is Sister’s sixth book, was co-authored with her brother Joseph M. Clark. I was delighted to see recently that the book was advertised in both The Tablet and the Jesuit magazine, America.
Gratitude Should Be Serious And Come From The Heart
Each year as Thanksgiving arrives, I try to think of the countless blessings for which I should be grateful. Of course, because they are countless, it is impossible to do more than remember some blessings that stand out in my memory.
Christianizing Culture
Can Christians so influence contemporary society that the experience of Christians and even the experience of those who claim to be nonbelievers becomes Christianized? Is such a goal just wishful thinking, just a pleasant dream but a dream not rooted in reality?
Power of Witness
The passages in Bernard Cooke’s “The God of Space and Time” that stress the importance of the Church’s mission to carry on the work of Christ have made a deep impression on me. I don’t think many of Cooke’s ideas are new to me but the way he presents them I have found exciting and inspiring. I think it is the way that Cooke writes about the Mystical Body and the role of Christians in that Body that has touched me deeply.
The Presence of the Risen Christ
In “The God of Space and Time” (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960, pp. 208, $4.95) Bernard Cooke discusses how God in the Old Testament helped the Jewish People to grow in holiness as His people and distinguishes that relationship from the relationship that the risen Christ has with the Christian community.
