From this vale of tears, one can never be sure about the boundaries of acceptable behavior at the Throne of Grace. Is laughter at earthly foibles permitted? I like to think so. Which inclines me to believe that this past June, Miss Mary Flannery O’Connor of Milledgeville, Georgia, was having a good cackle.
LIKE MILLIONS OF others, I cheered as American Pharoah, with jockey Victor Espinoza aboard, raced to the finish line at Belmont Park and became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. American Pharoah is an amazing horse who provided an amazing time in the horse racing world.
BACK IN THE late 1960s or thereabouts, Father Andrew Greeley, the model of an old-fashioned liberal Catholic, accused Father Daniel Berrigan (the beau ideal of post-conciliar Catholic radicalism) of harboring an authoritarian streak in his politics. Father Greeley meant that, were Father Berrigan and his radical friends to achieve power, their aggressive sense of moral superiority would lead them to put Father Greeley and his liberal friends in jail. It was classic hyperbole for Father Greeley, but like some of his polemics, there was a grain of truth in it.
By Regina Lourdan If you have children at home, here are some books to pray and learn with all summer long: “The Ten Commandments” by Sophie Piper. Paraclete Press (Brewster, Massachusetts, 2015). 48 pp., $14.95 This interactive and creative book cube will entertain and inform toddlers and older children. Little readers will learn the Ten […]
Tired and sensitive pregnant mothers and new parents beware. “Then Comes Baby: The Catholic Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the First Three Years of Parenthood” by Greg and Lisa Popcak is no exception to the lot within the genre of parenting books. There will be a few points of contention amid the advice that the couple extolls.
by Father John Catoir My aim in my work is to encourage everyone I come into contact with to live a more joyful, optimistic life. In the face of all the troubles we encounter in this world today, I realize that this task can seem daunting to some. But I also know that everyone can […]
I recently moved to a new city, so I’ve been trying to find a new running group. Last week, I joined a group that had no idea what the word “hospitable” meant. The leader greeted returning runners, who clumped into small gaggles of people who were not interested in talking to the new girl. Nobody said hello, nobody welcomed me.
IN THE WAKE of the Supreme Court’s marriage decision, these sober thoughts occur: (1) The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has rendered a decision that puts the Court at odds with the Constitution, with reason and with biblical religion.
FIFTY YEARS AGO, prior to my freshman year at Baltimore’s St. Paul Latin H.S., the late Father W. Vincent Bechtel introduced me to The Summer Reading List, upper-case. Father Bechtel didn’t fool around: He tossed his teenage charges into the deep end of the English and American literature pool and told us, in effect, “Start swimming.”
FOR MANY PEOPLE around the world, summer means vacations. When I grew up in Hong Kong, we did not have the practice of family vacations. Early in my career, our family went to wherever I had a summer conference. It was not quite a vacation as I always spent part of the time away from the family, laboring and stressing over various duties.
