Imagining grace and meriting mercy
Imagine this: A man, entirely careless of all moral and spiritual affairs, lives his life in utter selfishness, pleasure his only pursuit.
Blog
Contradictory suicide messaging
In July 2014, police found the body of 18-year-old Conrad Roy inside his truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Intelligence, wisdom and empathy
There’s a huge difference between being bright and being wise, between brilliance and wisdom.
Retreat: Sound spiritual warfare strategy
“Retreat” is one of those words in the English language that has a number of meanings – defined by words associated with war, retirement, seclusion and insanity.
Finding God in all things
There is, to be sure, a stress within the Biblical tradition that God is radically other: “Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.” (Isaiah 45:15) and “No one shall see [God] and live” (Exodus 33:20).
The loss of heaven, the fear of hell
Growing up as a Roman Catholic, like the rest of my generation, I was taught a prayer called, The Act of Contrition. Every Catholic back then had to memorize it and say it during or after going to confession. The prayer started this way: Oh, my God, I am truly sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all of my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell.
Why young people are leaving the Church
Last week, I gave a presentation at the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops Spring Meeting in Baltimore. My topic was what I identified as the second greatest crisis facing the Church today—namely, the massive attrition of our own people, especially the young.
Why a newspaper?
Back in March, a Lublin man who’d recently joined a cult vandalized St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Neillsville, just across the border in the Diocese of La Crosse. He threw things around, broke statuary, desecrated the altar and generally destroyed as much as possible in a short amount of time.
A letter from Bishop James P. Powers
A letter from Bishop James P. Powers regarding the release of David Malsch
A master class in evangelization
The account of St. Paul’s address on the Areopagus in Athens, found in the 17th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, is a sort of master class in the evangelization of the culture, and anyone engaged today in that essential task should read it with care.