Reflections

Saint Marguerite d’Youville (1701-1771)

Saint Marguerite d'Youville was born in rural Quebec in 1701 into serious poverty, and dropped out of school to help her widowed mother and younger brothers and sisters. She married unhappily when she was 21, and when her husband died …

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The First Address from Pope Benedict XVI

"Grace and peace in abundance to all of you! In my soul there are two contrasting sentiments in these hours. On the one hand, a sense of inadequacy and human turmoil for the responsibility entrusted to me yesterday as the …

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January 22: Reflection on Roe vs. Wade

I walked with George the other day, And this is what he had to say: "If this is what its come to, then I'm glad that I've passed on. For the foundation laid so long ago apparently is gone. What …

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A Christian Response to Violence, Part 2:

Pacifism: "We No Longer Learn War" How can we apply Jesus’ command to love our enemies when our whole nation has been attacked? Over the centuries, how Christians have attempted to apply Jesus’ teachings on violence to their lives has …

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On the Frontier of Justice in Ghana

"Africa has been the land of hope, salvation, and redemption. Abraham had come to Africa, Joseph from slave to savior. It was the land of refuge for Jesus and helped to carry his cross. Will we continue to dismiss Africa …

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Following the Spirit Down the (Yellow?) Brick Road

The road is really a five-foot wide path. The bricks are more dappled browns than yellow. But the journey does have a wizard and feisty little black terrier. And along the way we found our hearts, our minds, and our …

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Let the Church Say Amen

Amen is a cry of complete reliance, of heartfelt abandonment to something or someone that is true and trustworthy. THE TWO-SYLLABLE WORD COULD BE HEARD by all in the front quarter of the sizeable church. It was said by a …

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Undergraduates and Theology: Why Bother?

They seemed happily unaware of traditional teachings.... I thought them unchurched. The invitation to spell out what I see happening today in theological education for undergraduates is too good to pass up. I’ve been teaching undergraduates for nearly 30 years. …

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Until a "lack of discretion" do us part

Ever since the church got involved in the wedding ceremony, relatively late in Christian history, it has stood by its main belief about a marriage. It’s the consent of the couple that binds. SEVENTH IN A 10-PART SERIES ON CHURCH …

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Don't Cancel that Guilt Trip

A few weeks ago it was brought home to me how strongly our society has rejected the idea of struggling with one's conscience as necessary or beneficial. I was teaching Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple (Harbrace, 1982), and the …

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In the Name of the Father

Making the sign of the cross is a gesture that says, in shorthand, that a person is a Catholic. It appears as an icon in popular culture, and as a gesture it is scattered throughout film history, for example: movie …

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Fighting Catholic Amnesia

I was a high school junior before I learned that the Catholic faith was something more than Mass, folk songs and the Bible. Father Corry turned me on to Church history in his religion class. He showed me how our …

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Everyday Works of Mercy

Are you more Christian than you give yourself credit for being? My belief is that there are many like that--that many dedicated Christian people have compartmentalized their lives and have excluded important and central areas of their lives from what …

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The Death Penalty and the Catholic Conscience

Some proponents say the death penalty is biblical: "an eye for an eye." This moral theologian shows how they are misreading the Bible. If someone murdered your child or closest friend, what punishment would you want for the criminal? If …

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Evil Never Looked So Good

Do you think you're a victim? Do you avoid making judgments because you'll hurt someone's feelings? Do you feel betrayed by your wrinkles or your balding dome? Be careful. You might be cuddling up to heresy, which just had a …

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The Spirituality of Work

Teachers who structure justice into their workday lives model a moral vision for their students. I requested a review copy of all religion textbooks used in Catholic high schools some years ago and scoured over 30 books looking for references …

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Peace: The Countercultural Value

Ours is a violent society. Furthermore, evidence strongly suggests that we are learning to accept violence as normal behavior. As a people, we appear to be increasingly indifferent to daily images of warfare, racial hatred and ethnic cleansing. Murder and …

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Top Ten Reasons to Be a Catholic

Many of us have been raised in the Church, but why do we remain Catholic? This author shares her favorite reasons and invites you to consider your own. “DO YOU ALSO WANT TO LEAVE?“ (JOHN 6:67). When Jesus first asked …

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Fruit from the Vineyards of Faith Community

Participants in this summer's workshop "The Catholic High School as Faith Community" offered one another insights from their experience in the "vineyards" of Catholic high school teaching and campus ministry. We are happy to pass some of their "fruit of …

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Committing to Your School's Catholic Identity and Mission

A group of fifty-four religion teachers, campus ministers, and administrators from thirty-seven Catholic high schools across the United States gathered in June 1995 to share dreams, struggles, and moments of grace around the theme of building faith community in their …

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Lessons from an Inner-City Parish High School

Saint Paul High School in San Francisco, where I teach, is an inner-city parochial school. It is a school that, for all its shortcomings, has much to teach other Catholic secondary schools, precisely in view of the two attributes cited--namely, …