Christ is Coming! 1st Sunday of Advent

   Christ is Coming    Christ is coming! That, after all, is the theme of Advent (from Latin adventus, arrival). Today, the 1st Sunday in Advent, marks the beginning of a special penitential season. This time is set apart, hallowed, to prepare ourselves for the coming and arrival of Jesus. And we're not simply preparing for … Continue reading Christ is Coming! 1st Sunday of Advent

A Loving Mother: Alma Redemptoris Mater

The Madonna of the Streets by Roberto Ferruzzi, 1897   Loving Mother of Our Redeemer Who doesn't want a loving mother?  Or, if we need to win the favor of a powerful person (a King, for instance), how could we pass up the opportunity of having his Mother put in a good word for us?  That's the dual … Continue reading A Loving Mother: Alma Redemptoris Mater

What Is Man That Thou Art Mindful of Him?

 What is Man?         When I look at the Heavens, the work of thy fingers,             The moon and the stars which thou hast established;             What is man that thou art mindful of him,             And the son of man that thou dost care for him?             Yet thou hast made him little less than God,             And dost crown … Continue reading What Is Man That Thou Art Mindful of Him?

A Smaller, Purer Church?

In reality, all Fr. Ratzinger was doing was looking at social trends, the "signs of the times" (see Matthew 16:3). He saw a society in which Christian belief was becoming less important with, as a consequence, progressively less social advantage to membership. As the advantage diminished and eventually disappeared, the less committed members would move out, and on to something else . . .