Tag: fire

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Kevin Wondrash

Revisiting the argument from desire

One of the classical demonstrations of God’s existence is the so-called argument from desire.

It can be stated in a very succinct manner as follows. Every innate or natural desire corresponds to some objective state of affairs that fulfills it.

We all have an innate or natural desire for ultimate fulfillment, ultimate joy, which nothing in this world can possibly satisfy. Therefore there must exist objectively a supernatural condition that grounds perfect fulfillment and happiness, which people generally refer to as “God.”

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Kevin Wondrash

Reduction to a ‘singleton’ baby

In my capacity as theologian, teacher, and culture commentator, I’ve been reading articles on ethical matters for years and have grown relatively inured to the expression of even the most outrageous points of view.

But a few years ago, I came across a piece that was so shocking that I was compelled, as I read it, to put the magazine down several times and just shake my head in disbelief.

‘Reducing’ a pregnancy

It was an article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine called “The Two Minus One Pregnancy,” dealing with the phenomenon of “reducing” (love the Orwellian language) a pregnancy from two children to one.

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Fr. Robert Barron

John Henry Newman at the synod

Controversies surrounding the recent Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family have put me in mind of Blessed John Henry Newman, the greatest Catholic churchman of the 19th century.

Newman wrote eloquently on many topics, but the arguments around the synod compel us to look at his work regarding the evolution of doctrine.

The development of doctrine

When he was at mid-career and in the process of converting from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, Newman penned a masterpiece entitled On the Development of Christian Doctrine.

 

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Fr. Robert Barron

Have patience for ‘sausage-making’ synod

The midterm report on the deliberations of the Synod on the Family has appeared, and there is a fair amount of hysteria all around.

John Thavis, a veteran Vatican reporter who should know better, has declared this statement “an earthquake, the big one that hit after months of smaller tremors.”

Certain commentators on the right have been wringing their hands and bewailing a deep betrayal of the Church’s teaching. One even opined that this report is the “silliest document ever issued by the Catholic Church,” and some have said that the interim document flaunts the teaching of St. John Paul II.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

‘Fire On the Hill’ for teens at Holy Hill

HUBERTUS — On Saturday, Oct. 4, come out for the 14th annual “Fire On the Hill!” Find out why it’s the single largest youth event in the state.

Last year, 1,800 youth poured onto the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, popularly known as “Holy Hill.”

This beautiful fall event includes bonfire, speakers, sports, and sacraments.

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Fr. Robert Barron

Why goodness depends on God

One of the most common observations made by opponents of religion is that we don’t need God in order to have a coherent and integral morality.

Atheists and agnostics are extremely sensitive to the charge that the rejection of God will conduce automatically to moral chaos. Consequently, they argue that a robust sense of ethics can be grounded in the consensus of the human community over time or in the intuitions and sensibilities of decent people, etc.

What I would like to do is lay out, in very brief compass, the Catholic understanding of the relationship between morality and the existence of God and to show, thereby, why it is indispensably important for a society that wishes to maintain its moral integrity to maintain, at the same time, a vibrant belief in God.

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Kevin Wondrash

Youth Day at Holy Hill

HUBERTUS — On Saturday, Oct. 5, all young Catholics are invited to the 13th Annual “Fire On the Hill!” — the largest youth event in the state of Wisconsin.

Last year, over 1,500 teens and young adults poured onto the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, popularly known as “Holy Hill.”

This beautiful fall event includes bonfire, speakers, sports, and the sacraments. Massive tents are set up for the speakers, music, and Eucharistic Adoration.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Pentecost reminds us to use gifts of Holy Spirit received at Confirmation

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes, by Fr. Don Lange

I was confirmed in seventh grade. In religion class, I learned that in the Sacrament of Confirmation we receive the Holy Spirit who strengthens us to be Christian witnesses. I worried whether I could witness to Christ by dying for him as a martyr. I took Confirmation seriously.

The Church received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. To prepare to receive the Spirit, for nine days key followers of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. These included the apostles, together with Mary, some other women, and disciples. They were united in intense prayer.

In Acts 2:2-4, it says, “Suddenly there came from the sky, a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Tongues as of fire appeared to them, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

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Sr. M. Marcia Vinje

Reflections on 9/11 and life in NYC

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Editor’s note: Sr. M. Marcia Vinje, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, recently moved from Madison to work at Our Lady of Pity Parish in Staten Island, N.Y. Following are her reflections on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and other experiences.

The 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are very much in the awareness of everyone in New York.

Everyone has a story about who they knew that died that day, or why their relative should have been at the World Trade Center but for various reasons they were not there that day or came later. The stories of God’s providence are phenomenal.

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