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| Susan Swanke |
When Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and shared his message of Divine Mercy, the words he instructed her to put at the bottom of his image were, “Jesus, I trust in you.”
No subtle hint. Jesus wants us to trust him. Why is it so important to him that we trust him? Surely, it’s not because he needs our trust for his good.
In fact, God needs nothing. It must be for our good that he gives this command.Two weeks ago, I reflected briefly on the fundamental shift in worldview in the West, beginning with the Renaissance and then gaining greater traction with the French Revolution and the Enlightenment.
This movement from a theistic, God-centered vision to a humanistic, this-worldly orientation is complex, long, and multi-faceted, and therefore not easy to fully understand or articulate.
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Fourth and last in a series of reflections by Fr. Robert Barron on the life of Cardinal Francis George.
The other principal sign of the exhaustion of the liberal project is its hyper-stress on freedom as self-assertion and self-definition.
In Cardinal Francis George’s words, “The cultural fault line lies in a willingness to sacrifice even the Gospel truth in order to safeguard personal freedom construed as choice.”
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An emergency tends to focus one’s mind and energies and to clarify one’s priorities.
If a dangerous fire breaks out in a home, the inhabitants thereof will lay aside their quarrels, postpone their other activities, and together get to the task of putting out the flames. If a nation is invaded by an aggressor, politicians will quickly forget their internal squabbling and put off their legislative programs in order to work together for the shared purpose of repulsing the enemy.
MADISON — The UW-Madison student organization Badger Catholic invites all students and their friends to attend the organization’s first Speaker Event, “Breaking Boundaries,” featuring George Weigel.
Weigel, distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, in Washington, D.C., will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., in the Gordon Dining and Event Center.
During the presentation, students will have the opportunity to learn more about the topic of “Evangelical Catholicism” as the Church begins to embrace the culture of the 21st century.
MONONA — St. Ambrose Academy will host a faculty lecture entitled “The Clash between Catholicism and National Socialism” by James Reuter, faculty history teacher, at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, 5101 Schofield St. on Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m in Marian Hall.
Dear Friends,
In the Gospel of this past Sunday we heard about Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52). Bartimaeus was not blind from birth, unlike the man in the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to John. Bartimaeus had his sight for many years and then lost it; so he knew what he didn’t have. And on top of his losing his sight, he was reduced by his blindness and disability to begging, so that he was treated as one lacking in human dignity.
Dear Friends,
In the Gospel of this past Sunday we heard about Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52). Bartimaeus was not blind from birth, unlike the man in the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to John. Bartimaeus had his sight for many years and then lost it; so he knew what he didn’t have. And on top of his losing his sight, he was reduced by his blindness and disability to begging, so that he was treated as one lacking in human dignity.
Why do adults become Catholics? There are as many reasons for “converting” as there are converts.
Evelyn Waugh became a Catholic with, by his own admission, “little emotion but clear conviction”: this was the truth; one ought to adhere to it.
Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote that his journey into the Catholic Church began when, as an unbelieving Harvard undergraduate detached from his family’s staunch Presbyterianism, he noticed a leaf shimmering with raindrops while taking a walk along the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.; such beauty could not be accidental, he thought — there must be a Creator.
