Tag: Christ

On
George Weigel

Remembering Pope John Paul II

The Catholic Difference by George Weigel

Strange as it may seem, I’ve been vaguely worried about the beatification on May 1 of a man with whom I was in close conversation for over a decade and to the writing of whose biography I dedicated 15 years of my own life.

My worries don’t have to do with allegations of a “rushed” beatification process; the process has been a thorough one, and the official judgment is the same as the judgment of the people of the Church.

I’m also unconcerned about the fretting of ultra-traditionalists for whom John Paul II was a failure because he didn’t restore the French monarchy, impose the Tridentine Mass on the entire Church, and issue thundering anathemas against theologians and wayward politicians.

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Sr. Margie Lavonis

Redemptive suffering is part of being a Christian

Cutting Edge by Sr. Margie Lavonis

It is not easy to block out the multiple cries of pain and suffering that permeate the world. It is almost deafening.

All one has to do is turn on the radio, read the newspaper, watch television, or go online. We are bombarded with news of pain and suffering, almost to the saturation point. I think of the people in Libya, Haiti, Japan, and others affected by war and natural disasters. It gives me an overwhelming feeling.

Good people suffer

A couple of years ago I attended several lectures on the martyrs of El Salvador who were killed during a civil war that took place there in the 1970’s and ’80s. Archbishop Oscar Romero, four women missionaries, and several Jesuits — only to name a few of hundreds of people — were brutally murdered because they spoke out against the intense suffering of the Salvadoran people and a system of government that perpetuated it.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Easter reminds us that the best is yet to come

A widow told her son she sometimes wished that when she died, she could be buried with a fork in her hand. When he asked her “why,” she explained that at a banquet, the head waitress often requests that we keep our fork because the best is yet to come.

She told her son because of our faith in the resurrection, and God’s mercy, that after death the very best is yet to come — the priceless gift of eternal life. Christ’s resurrection gives us hope of enjoying eternal happiness in heaven.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Reconciliation shows us God’s boundless mercy

A college student wrote in her college newspaper that sometimes she wished that she were a Catholic. Then, like her Catholic friends, she could confess her sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Through the absolution of the priest, she would be assured of God’s forgiveness.

God’s merciful forgiveness is expressed in the words of absolution: “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

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Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Working through a hard death

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Caregivers and health care professionals can and often do greatly assist those who are suffering and dying. Even with careful pain management and comfort measures, however, the dying process can still be agonizing and difficult.

Each death has a unique and particular trajectory, but even the most difficult and unpleasant deaths often have powerful graces and remarkable opportunities for growth mysteriously interwoven into them.

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On
Olivia Knier

Explaining in a factual way why abortion is wrong

Perhaps one of the most hotly contested issues of the Church, the topic of abortion, often arises when somebody finds out we don’t condone it.

The Church has taught from early times that life is to be protected in all forms and time periods. We’re often asked: Why is it wrong? How can you discriminate against mothers?

Here are a few ways to explain the moral evil of abortion in a completely secular way, that will make sense to any reasonable citizen.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Christ gives the grace of the sacrament

A small church once had an inspiring wedding tradition. After the wedding, the pastor would invite the newly married couple to pull on the rope that rang the church bells and share the good news of their wedding with the town.

First the bride pulled on the rope with her beautiful hands, but the bell did not ring. Next the muscular groom tugged mightily, but the bell did not ring. Then the bride and groom pulled together and, lo and behold, the bells rang out the good news of their marriage.

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On
Tom Nelson

Food, eating, and Lent

Guest Column logo

Eating is a sacred act, for it represents the natural inclination for sustenance which powers all living bodies and therefore is the life-sustaining force of the Creator.

The Psalmist wrote: “(O Lord) You raise grass for the cattle, and vegetation for men’s use, Producing bread from the earth and wine to gladden men’s hearts, So that their faces gleam with oil, and bread fortifies the hearts of men” (Psalm 104: 14, 15).

In the same passage he continues, “They all look to you to give them food in due time. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.”

Tending the earth

In the earliest section of the Genesis narrative, God the Creator blows life into a shaped lump of earthen clay and from this act of His spirit the human family was born.

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