Guest Columnists

‘Equilibrium’ and Ignominy

January 18, 2018

THIS PAST DEC. 18, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the department of external relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, received an honorary degree from the Faculty of Theology of Apulia in Bari, on Italy’s Adriatic coast. During his remarks on that occasion, Metropolitan Hilarion thanked the Holy See “per la sua posizione di equilibrio riguardo al conflitto in corso in Ucraina [for its balanced position regarding the conflict underway in Ukraine].” Did anyone in the Vatican blush in shame at that compliment? A lot of high-ranking Roman churchmen should have.

The Question That Changed Everything

January 10, 2018

“WHAT DO YOU want to be when you grow up?” In grammar school, that was always one of my favorite questions to answer. I would love to say that when I grow up, I want to be a professional baseball player – and play for the New York Yankees!

Recompense for a Serious Mistake

January 10, 2018

I WON’T VENTURE into classical Roman literature, which is not my forte, but I will say with assurance that the greatest modern Latin pun was the result of a schoolgirl prank. In 1844, General Charles James Napier, commanding a British army during the heydays of imperialism in South Asia, was ordered to subdue the province of Sindh (now in Pakistan).

What Gift Would I Give to Jesus?

January 3, 2018

IN OUR FAMILY, we leave the Christmas tree and decorations up until the Epiphany, the feast day celebrating the visitation of the Wise Men to the Christ Child. The irony isn’t wasted on me, that on the day Christ received gifts from the Magi, I decide to close up shop and end Christmas.

Hemrick

Having Hope in 2018

January 3, 2018

When Isaiah speaks of a bear and cow being neighbors and a baby sitting aside a viper (Is 11:1-9), what message is he sending for us in 2018?

At first look, his examples symbolize peaceful coexistence. That which seems unlikely is now likely; direct opposites uniting as one.

Viva Cristo Rey (Schools)!

January 3, 2018

IN THE 1920S, when the United States had a quasi-Stalinist regime on its southern border, “Viva Cristo Rey!” was the defiant battle cry of Cristeros who fought the radically secular Mexican government’s persecution of the Church. “Viva Cristo Rey!” were likely the last words spoken by Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J., whose martyrdom in 1927 may have been the first in history in which the martyr was photographed at the moment of death. Today, in the U.S., “Cristo Rey” has a different, although not wholly unrelated, meaning – for it’s the name of an important experiment in Catholic education for poor children.

The Crèche and Life in The Gap

December 20, 2017

FOR THE PAST decade or so, I’ve been assembling a mid-sized Judean village of Fontanini crèche figures, including artisans, herders (with sheep), farmers (with chickens and a historical turkey), vintners, blacksmiths, musicians, weavers and a fisherman or two (one awake, another asleep).

Working Together at Home and Parish

December 20, 2017

EACH OF OUR faith journeys began at baptism. It was nurtured by our parents, respectively, through Catholic education and their continued faith in loving God, family and neighbor. Next April, we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We minister in the same church where we were married – Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Ridgewood.