This series of columns has caused me to reflect on my past understanding of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and also on the importance of human relationships. I know that when I was a young priest I hardly ever mentioned the Holy Spirit in my Sunday homilies.
Faith & Thought
Embrace by the Holy Spirit Can Lead Us to Become Saints
As I mentioned in last week’s column, Bernard Cooke was the best teacher I have ever had. Bishop Bryan McEntegart sent me to Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1965 after I had obtained my master’s degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
The Genuine Gift of Friends Offers Us Many Comforts
Recently, I finished reading one of the most demanding theology books that I have ever read. But it is also one that is filled with beautiful insights. The book is “Power and Spirit: Toward an Experience-Based Pneumatology” (Oxford University Press, 2004, 209 pp).
Judge Art on Merits, Not On Whether It Speaks to Faith
When I was reading the March 2024 edition of Commonweal magazine, I felt as though I had received a special gift. The magazine is approaching its 100th anniversary and is reprinting some outstanding essays from its past history.
What Makes Great Religious Art Is a Mystery, Like Faith
Anyone who reads this weekly column regularly knows that I am very interested in films, theater, and what I refer to as “Catholic Novels.” Recently my attention was called again to Shisaku Endo’s wonderful novel “Silence” and the cinematic masterpiece based on the novel.
All of Us Are Called to Love; All of Us Need to Be Loved
It is of course possible to freely hate, and it is possible to treat people indifferently, to reduce them to “its” rather than “thous.” I believe that there are many temptations in our society to miss the uniqueness and profound dignity of other persons.
Hatred, Indifference, and Love: Ways of Coexistence
Memory plays tricks on us, so perhaps I am wrong when I recall that the nature of interpersonal relationships was not emphasized in classes when I was a student in college and in the seminary. Now, interpersonal relationships are on my mind as much as any other topic.
Many Today Don’t Ask Big Questions About Their Lives
As I have been reflecting on the importance of the liberal arts in helping us to deal with what we often refer to as “ultimate questions,” questions about the meaning of our lives, the meaning of our death, the meaning of love, the meaning of God, the name of Catholic novelist Walker Percy keeps entering my mind.
Liberal Arts Help Students Find Answers They Need
I have been teaching philosophy for many years. I have taught at Brooklyn College, Queens College, New York University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and what was Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Douglaston, Queens. Besides suggesting that I may not be able to hold a job, the experience at all these educational institutions was joy-filled and personally fulfilling.
Challenged by the Secular Humanistic Philosophy
At the beginning of this semester at St. John’s University, I began the courses I teach the way I have begun them for several years. I gave two or three lectures on the philosophy of secular humanism (often called atheistic or agnostic humanism). The reason I begin every course by explaining secular humanism is because I believe it to be the philosophy held by many intellectuals in our society.