Symposiums
Culture War Considerations
Love is our story, we don’t need to rebrand it or market it. We just need to live it.
Curiosity, Wonder, and Wisdom
In a short but provocative reflection, Prof. J. Budziszewski calls curiosity the enemy of wonder. In so doing, he is drawing a distinction between the desire for knowledge—itself a good thing—and the elevation of that desire to the highest good, one which can then seek fulfillment at all costs: The problem is that the curiosity-as-holiness […]
Catholic Canines
It’s a very long story, but suffice it to say, my husband and I are planning to bring home a dog at the end of this week. Many people have expressed interest (to put it nicely) in why we are bringing home a dog when we do not yet have and are not currently expecting […]
A Conversion of Individuals
Christ spent 3 years forming 12 men. Those men went on to change the world.
ISIS, Just War, and the Words of Pope Francis
Christians have a complicated relationship with violence. Our founder (Christ) died by violence in absolute meekness—living out to the extreme his teaching that when confronted with violence we must “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39). Jesus taught us “Blessed are the Peace Makers” (Matthew 5:9) and we hail him as the Prince of Peace (cf. […]
Pope Francis’ Missionary Impulse: a Transformation I Didn’t Want
By Sarah Summers Granger “I dream of a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything.” – Pope Francis Ten years ago, I didn’t want a transformative impulse. I wanted stability, peace, a small dose of the Holy Spirit – just enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. After all kinds of turmoil in my […]
Seven More Books for Catholic College Students
The college semester is upon us again, and at most universities the new academic year is either now beginning or has recently begun []. For the returning students, this means a return to familiar stomping grounds and reunions with friends before the courses really buckle down into the semester grind. For the new students, it […]
Wake Up, The Glory of the Martyrs Shines Upon You!
In his moving novel, Silence, Japanese-Catholic author Shusako Endo once described the continent of Asia as a “swamp” that choked the sapling of the Gospel and made it uninhabitable for Christianity. That image has always haunted me because a part of my own journey — as a convert to Christianity from Buddhism — has been to […]
Martyrdom in Mosul
When I heard of the atrocities happening in Mosul this past week, I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t. This is happening in our world today? I know there are bad things happening all of the time. I know there is evil. But I couldn’t wrap my mind around such brutality, such fierce evil. After […]
Redemptive Suffering
The fear of suffering, pain, and death may seem like unconquerable mysteries. My time here at CPE [Clinical Pastoral Education] has helped me to understand, via experience, that they are not necessarily things that need to be conquered. No amount of faith excludes us from experience pain, loneliness, and death. Money, power, and other earthly […]
Pope Francis’ Dream for the Church: What Would Happen!
So apparently I am not the only one who loves Pope Francis! Of course it is one thing to like someone and another thing to follow them and what they ask of you! I was very blessed that his monthly evangelization intention for the month of July was for the laity, serving around the world […]
We Don’t Call Her “The Virgin Mary” For Nothing.
Whenever we talk about Mary, we address her with many different titles: Mother of Jesus, Mother of God, Holy Mary, Blessed Mother. However, out of all these, the one most often heard across Catholic (and Protestant) aisles is The Virgin Mary. Virtually every person that claims the Christian faith accepts that Mary miraculously conceived Christ […]
