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Whatever is good, true, or beautiful comes from a single source: God. The generosity and faithful love that God showed in creation can become a constant reminder of our need to live out a generous and faithful love. Our ability to do that grows as we grow. Create a moment today to thank God for Jesus’s Incarnation and be ready for that to change your life.
I have long felt that Christmas is a feast that largely celebrates humanity’s unconscious desire and goal. Its meaning is too much for the rational mind to process, so God graciously puts this Big Truth on a small stage so that we can wrap our minds and hearts around it over time. No philosopher would dare to predict the materialization of God, so we are just presented with a very human image of a poor woman and her husband with a newborn child. (I am told that the Madonna is by far the most painted image in Western civilization.)
We need to show compassion for those in need during this season and year-round. We miss the point of the Incarnation if we feel that feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless are activities for this season only. Educational theorist John Dewey said, “All education is about making connections.” We can never exhaust the connections that the Incarnation invites. Francis recognized this by linking this feast to extra generosity for humans in need, for oxen, asses, and even the lowly larks. The Incarnation of Jesus is a testament to God’s universal love and compassion.
Many argue the death penalty can help survivors move on with their lives. However, this counselor writes that true healing can happen only when we learn to “walk with the pain.”
With the heart of a warrior and the soul of a peacemaker, Sister Megan Rice boldly pushes for complete nuclear disarmament in the United States.
Rebuild My Church
“You have to go to Mass to hear Father Ben’s homily. ”
That was the message I got in text after text on a Saturday night a few months ago. Just days before, I had shared on my Facebook page the column I wrote on this very page about my struggle with the latest wave in the ongoing sex-abuse crisis.
“I’m done, ” I had told so many of my friends. “I can’t do this anymore. ”
“Just go and listen, ” encouraged one friend. “It might give you hope. “
Keep the Children Safe
Back in 1989, a week of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episodes was devoted to story lines about working mothers. In one story that week, we were introduced to Helena Ruoti, an employee at the small music shop in the neighborhood run by Joe Negri. As the episode begins, Helena is on the phone with her babysitter. Her young son, Matthew, is screaming, and nothing will comfort him.
Joe suggests she go home to be with her son. Helena feels torn. “I’d like that, ” she says, “but I also want to do my job for you. “
Some months before I was ordained, my bishop told me he planned to send me to teach at one of our Catholic high schools. The idea terrified me. I was not popular the first time around and imagined my new experience would be much the same. My bishop ever patient with me told me to trust his decision, be myself, and share with the students my relationship with Christ.
Although I know the Catholic Church approves of cremation, I can’t find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church what the Church requires that Catholics do with the ashes (cremains). Do they have to be buried as in a traditional burial?
According to the second section of article 2301, “The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body. “
What is meant by the expression “the valley of the shadow of death “? I am a lifelong Catholic nearing the end of life. So much has changed over the years that I don’t understand what the Church teaches now about the passage from this life to the next. Do we still believe it is a fearsome struggle to avoid the clutches of the evil one? How can I find peace about this?
