TO REDEPLOY A phrase from President Gerald Ford, our “long national nightmare” – in this case, the semi-permanent presidential campaign – will be over in 11 months. Here are two suggestions for what Catholics in America might ponder before Nov. 8.
Guest Columnists
Kindness and Mercy In a Troubled World
It seems as if daily we witness violence, dissension and other social ailments. Father Eugene Hemrick asks how to keep this from overshadowing a hopeful new year.
Inspiration for New Year’s Resolutions
When you begin to think about the new adventures you’ll embark on during this New Year, try to make Jesus Christ the centerpiece.
Immersing Others in A Pool of Love
A wise priest once told me that mercy is where love meets suffering. That’s a pretty profound definition. I’ve pondered it often, even meditated on it, but I’m not sure I really understood it until I recently saw a letter from Calvary Hospital in the Bronx.
Finding Online Connections
Emily Trunko, a 15-year-old from Ohio, created “Dear My Blank” on Tumblr to give people a place to anonymously post letters that they never intend to send. Some messages are simple, others are full of hope and a few are heartbreaking.
Christmas and a World Upside Down
Preachers at Christmas often emphasize the lowliness of the Christ Child’s birth. This pattern of inversion – turning everything upside-down – continues throughout the public ministry of the Lord Jesus and reaches its climax in His death and resurrection.
No One Should Be Alone at Christmas
A British department store is creating a buzz this Christmas after teaming with Age UK, a charity for senior citizens, to raise funds and awareness of the scourge of loneliness among the elderly today.
Recalling Two Great American Bishops
WE AMERICAN CATHOLICS are, in the main, notoriously uninterested in our own history. So it likely escaped the notice of many that Dec. 3 marked the bicentenary of the death of Archbishop John Carroll, one of the greatest who ever lived among us.
Lessons for the Year of Mercy
AS THE YEAR of Mercy began, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, I remembered the popular parable: the prodigal son. Its graphic depiction of the younger son’s profligate behavior, the depth of his misery groveling for scraps among pigs, and the father’s magnanimous welcome with rings, robe, sandals and feast leave little unsaid about the father’s boundless mercy. However, the character who intrigues me is the older brother.
Works of Mercy to Help the Elderly
Pope Francis has a “burning desire” during this special Jubilee Year. He wants us to reflect on and practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy so that we may “enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy.”