The connection between our sexual conduct and our societal health is incontrovertible. At least it is for those who haven't invested in the so-called "sexual revolution. It is clear that the societal endorsement of sexual license directly undermines the institution of marriage. The breakdown of marriage in turn has a profoundly negative impact on children most immediately, and from there on everything and everyone else. First comes marriage and all the rest follows. When we put the cart before the marital horse, well . . .
This Is No Time to Despair
Once one of these buildings no longer serves as a church, it still communicates something of its sacramental character. This is less of a problem if the building remains Church property. But what if it's up for sale?
Pentecost Persecution and St. Julia of Corsica
Christ sent the Holy Spirit down on his Church at Pentecost, the Church against which, he had promised Peter, the "Gates of Hell" would not prevail (Matthew 16:17) . . . but he had also promised persecution (Matthew 5:11). The Persecution was not long in coming. The same Peter who boldly addresses the wondering crowds on Pentecost will soon be writing to the early Christians: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7)
More Than a Building: What is a Church?
More Than a Building In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . (John 1:1,4) Any truly Christian anthropology needs to start with the Gospel of John, chapter 1. The incorporeal Eternal … Continue reading More Than a Building: What is a Church?
Seen Any Miracles Lately?
Any Miracles At All . . . Well, have you seen any miracles? How many of us would know it if we had? The Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins, whose formation taught him to See God in All Things, wrote: Glory be to God for dappled things – For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; … Continue reading Seen Any Miracles Lately?
Truth is Real – St. Athanasius in the 21st Century
The Church is supposed to be a Sign of Contradiction (Luke 2:34). If all she offers in the face of sin is a Nod and a Wink, however, what is she teaching? How is any distinction possible between her teaching and what the Conventional Wisdom has on offer? Do we not then give tacit assent?
A Modern Tertullian: Merton for Better and for Worse
Despite his enormous achievements, however, and his lasting influence, Tertullian is not considered a Father of the Church; we don’t even call him “Saint” Tertullian: he chose, sadly, to follow his own judgment rather than that of the Apostolic Church, and fell into heresy in the latter part of his life.
Trappists and the Icarians: Merton’s Parable
". . . the monks had Christ living and working in them by faith, by charity. The monks were united by the Holy Spirit in the peace of God . . . But the Icarians were united only by the frail bonds of an “armed neutrality” of insatiable animal appetites."
Sins of Fathers . . . And of Kings
The Protestant Reformation became a permanent feature of religious life in Europe. It might otherwise have remained a largely German affair. In later years, the growth of the British Empire ensured that the split in the Latin Church spread over the whole globe.
The Crisis of Fatherhood and the Litany of St. Joseph
The Church has always taught us that human fatherhood is merely a reflection: as Jesus himself puts it, "call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven." (Matthew 23:9) Human fathers are merely stewards, and our authority is not our own, nor do we exercise if for our own sake.