Daily Theology
Discipleship
Meeting Hatred with Love: Burying Tamerlan Tsarnaev
In general, the Catholic Church deals with death and suffering well. In many cities across the country, the Church ensures that the unclaimed dead receive a decent funeral with prayers and dignity. By most all accounts, the church in Boston under the leadership of Cardinal O’Malley handled the impact of the heinous acts on Marathon … Continue reading
The Pope and the Power of Humility
Few events have defined Pope Francis’s young papacy as much as his monumental decision to break from tradition in the Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet. The moving witness of him bending over and cleaning the feet of twelve marginalized poor (non-Italian) young men and women may be remembered as an important moment in … Continue reading
The Rich Young Man and Privilege
‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor … Continue reading
Confronting Our Moral Failure: 10 Years After the Iraq War
“NO TO WAR”! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity….And what are we to say of the threat of a war which could strike the people of Iraq, the land of the Prophets, a people already sorely tried by more than twelve years of embargo? War is never just another … Continue reading
MAD Men: Guns, America and the Challenge of Pacem in Terris
Peace is born from the heart, but it will be easier to achieve if we have fewer weapons in hand. – Federico Lombardi, SJ This weekend, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the Vatican’s official spokesperson added to the voices of Catholic leaders in support of President Obama’s common sense proposals for greater control and regulation of … Continue reading
A Prayer for the Church on the Eve of the Council’s Anniversary
“Lord, but all together, fatherhood and brotherhood and God’s grace, give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love, love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord’s holy peace for the work of the … Continue reading
Theological Education or Evangelization?
“What is the role of faith in the classroom?” In light of the upcoming Synod, we may even ask: “can the classroom be a place for evangelization? The previous posts in Theological Shark Week III all shed light on different aspects of this important question. For those of us teaching core (required) theology classes in … Continue reading
Confronting our culture of violence
The horrific shootings at a movie theater outside Denver is shocking. As a nation, we again join in prayer for the victims of this seemingly senseless act of terror. The event again raises significant questions about our culture’s policies towards violence and firearms. While the details are still coming in about the incident, one thing … Continue reading
Responding to the God as Gift: The Social Responsibility of Young Christian Professionals
What is the role of the young Catholic professional/intellectuals today? In the context of a world shaped by hyper-globalization, this is an increasingly important question to address. Social and economic realities around the globe are putting increased pressure on young professionals in their personal and professional lives in three ways. A. First, many of us … Continue reading
Leave Room for the Holy Spirit: Pentecost as the Source of Religious Freedom
After Easter, Pentecost is my favorite Christian feast day. Often called the “birthday of the church,” the experience of Pentecost has a lot to say about the way we live as Christians and the way we relate, as church, to the world. In John’s version of the Pentecost experience (Jn 20:19-23) [more famous for doubting … Continue reading
