Daily Theology
Archive for February 2013
The Mission: Choose Your Own Penance
Between high school, college, and my PhD program, I have spent nearly 14 years being formed intellectually and spiritually by Jesuits. Thus it should come as no surprise that Roland Joffe’s The Mission, a moving film about Jesuit missionaries in South America in the middle of the 18th century, holds a special place in my … Continue reading
Nanni Moretti’s “We Have a Pope”
I have been meaning to see Nanni Moretti’s film We Have a Pope ever since I first saw the trailer a year or so ago. The basic premise of the film is that a cardinal, on being elected pope, has a nervous breakdown before being introduced to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican … Continue reading
Downton Abbey’s Finale and the Tragedy of Benedict XVI
I would caution anyone who did not see last night’s episode to stop reading at this point. So many SPOILERS. First of all, let me apologize for the absence of a Downton reflection last week. I woke early Monday morning, ready to take on the exciting two-hour Sunday night episode, when I saw the news … Continue reading
The Bishop of Rome: Remembering the Local Church
In January, I spent eleven days in Italy with Loras College undergraduates. While in Rome we attended a papal general audience, and I was struck not only by the diversity of people who had gathered from around the world, but also by the number of Italians in enthusiastic attendance. I commented on this to our … Continue reading
Papal Tweets
As Pope Benedict XVI approaches his groundbreaking retirement, commentaries and analyses of his legacy as pope are coming more and more quickly across the wire. In my own way, I’d like to offer some thoughts on this pope’s use of social media. In this sense, the first thing to come to mind is likely the … Continue reading
Embracing Our Human Finitude During Lent: The Spiritual Witness of Pope Benedict’s Resignation
It has been a busy week for Catholic Christians. Monday we were rocked by the Pope’s resignation and today, Ash Wednesday, we join fellow Christians around the world in celebrating the Season of Lent. Lent is often portrayed as the time Christians “give up something” like chocolate, alcohol or, in this day and age, social … Continue reading
Lent 2013
Reflections for Lent 2013 As the season of Lent begins, we here at Daily Theology will collect our reflections from this year and from seasons past on this page. Check here for posts on fasting, prayer, almsgiving, Ash Wednesday, the Sundays of Lent, and more. We hope these will serve all of our readers, friends, … Continue reading
An Office, Not a Person – Benedict’s Gift
So I, like many people, was woken up this morning by what I thought was a story from the Onion – that Benedict XVI was resigning effective at the end of the month. Here, in no particular order, are some initial ecclesiological thoughts. Theologians of the future, be kind to my mistakes, we’ve only had … Continue reading
The Pope of Surprises
Early this morning I received a few text messages before 7:15am. Generally, this should be a bad thing. Who died? What did I forget to do? When I saw they came from my theologian friends, my sleepy mind went right to Rome and I had flashbacks to my participation in the funeral services of John … Continue reading
Papal Transition 2013
On February 11th, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would be resigning the office of the papacy effective February 28th at 8pm. Although not without precedent, no pope had resigned the office in roughly 600 years (and even that was under unusual circumstances). As the Catholic Church, and indeed the world, prepares for the … Continue reading
