SOME BIBLICAL SCHOLARS consider the Book of Deuteronomy to be a collection of sermons: catechetical homilies on the great theme of the Exodus and the fulfillment of that epic adventure in God’s gifts of the Law and the land to the people of Israel.
Guest Columnists
What Are You Doing to Promote Vocations?
THE PARISHES THAT make up the Diocese of Brooklyn are at the forefront of praying for vocations. Praying for vocations cannot be a one-day event, but a constant commitment for the entire parish community. Therefore, as a new pastoral year begins, let us address what we can do in our parishes so that everyone becomes actively involved in creating a greater awareness for vocations.
Speaking About Race With Hispanic Children
by Dr. Hosffman Ospino
MY 6-YEAR-OLD son came home after school and unexpectedly asked my wife and me: “What am I?” The question caught us off guard. “What do you mean,” we replied. He said, “Am I Mexican? Are people who speak Spanish Mexican?”
Why Church Fights The Culture War
THOSE WHO PERSIST in denying that the Church is engaged in a culture war, the combatants in which are aptly called the “culture of life” and the “culture of death,” might ponder this June blog post by my summer pastor in rural Québec, Father Tim Moyle:
The Perfect Gift: Giving Ourselves to Each Other
Never be afraid to ask the hard questions, but at the same time be proactive to find those hard answers. True honest discerning gives us direction and infinite motivation to fulfill with excellence who God calls us to be. And don’t be afraid to take a risk now and then.
Ecumenism and Influence-Envy
Defending the indefensible is never pretty. Or so we’re reminded by recent attempts from the portside of the Catholic commentariat to defend the madcap analysis of America’s alleged “ecumenism of hate” that appeared last month in the Italian Catholic journal, La Civiltà Cattolica (edited by the Jesuits of Rome and published after vetting by the Secretariat of State of the Holy See).
Giving Myself
When I entered the Little Sisters of the Poor, I think my family was very surprised – most probably because we seem better suited to a circus than a convent! My parents laughed and still wonder, “What did we do right?”
Questions of Competence
IT’S A SAFE bet that 99.95 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics have never heard of La Civiltà Cattolica [Catholic Civilization], a journal founded in 1850 by Jesuits of Rome to combat evils of the age (then taken to be secularist liberalism and freemasonry). Its current circulation is perhaps half that of First Things, and while it’s recently made attempts to broaden readership by publishing English, Spanish, French and Korean editions, it’s also a safe bet that Civiltà Cattolica will remain a small-circulation magazine with a readership confined to what we might call “Catholic professionals:” clergy of various ranks; papal diplomats; officials of the Roman Curia; academics and pundits.
Joy in His Service
by Msgr. Joseph Nugent
Like a couple falling in love and feeling a deep call to be with each other for the rest of their lives, I too felt a call to serve the Lord and His Church as a priest. In the old admonition before marriage, the couple was reminded that they “would take each other for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health – until death.” I said “Yes” to the Lord and His Church and experienced all of the above as a priest for more than 46 years.
My Brother’s Wife Is a Nun… Again!
by Bishop Raymond Chappetto
AN UNUSUAL STORY! Let me explain. Maryan Callahan was born in Philadelphia and grew up in a very Catholic family. As a young girl she became familiar with the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known as the IHMs.