A sub-category of News.
I was living my best Catholic life. Thanks to a powerful encounter with the Lord, I went from a “check-the-box faith” to an all-in, sign me up, on-fire disciple of Jesus. From Catechist to VBS, I gave my “yes” to everything, but my church involvement peaked when I introduced a women’s Bible study to our…
Above: the Vatican News photo of the meeting. According to America magazine, with help from the confirming Vatican News photos, Pope Leo met privately with Fr. James Martin for 30 minutes as part of the Outreach Jubilee pilgrimage. America gushed that this meeting “is seen in Rome as a public reaffirmation of support for the…
In these latter days of this Information Age, we find ourselves in a world that is not so much “brave” or “new” as it is bland and repetitive. Because modern man has, in many cases, not yet found God, he is perpetually restless, waiting around for the “next big thing.” Given this sociological climate, it…
I’ll never forget the day a student pointed a handgun at my dad’s face, back when he was principal of Bishop Neumann High School in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. I was too young to be a student, so I wasn’t there, but the drama of that terrible morning was burned into the collective memory of the whole…
In moments of tragedy, it has become almost instinctive for politicians, celebrities, and public figures to declare that they are offering “thoughts and prayers” to the afflicted. The phrase has become so common that it has lost its force. In many circles, it has even become a target of ridicule—critics accuse it of being a…
Labor Day originated as a celebration of the American worker and the gains organized labor won for him, most preeminently the fixed, 40-hour workweek. But not every “pro-labor” government mandate is actually what workers want. Public intellectual Oren Cass summed up a just concluded Wall Street Journal series about where the money of today’s new…
For this 12th Sunday after Pentecost the readings in the Vetus Ordo places before us, from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 3:4–9), a meditation on the surpassing glory of the New Covenant, and from Luke 10:23–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, provoked by a nomikos who wished to test the Lord….
Above: the original basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec, Canada in 1901. At this writing I am touring through the Canadian Province of Alberta, a place where I had only been once before – passing through on the passenger train called The Canadian, during which I stayed for two nights at Jasper. Of course, much has…
Have we still got a Christian consensus around which Americans of every possible persuasion can rally round? A public philosophy, that is, whose strength and wisdom continue to inspire support? And if so, what is the core principle that binds us together as a people? It is, I would argue, the belief that God—not doctors…
Above: George Washington donated the money to build the first Catholic Church in Virginia. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, it would be wise if we, as American Catholics, celebrated our own origins in this country, which – like the country itself – is far older…
