Advancing the Kingdom

Are Catholics Christian? This question has often been posed by those poorly informed about the history of the Church. Such ignorance has not been uncommon in the past. Suffice it to say that since the followers of Christ were first called ‘Christians’ in Antioch two millennia ago, Catholics – followers of Christ – have been identified as Christians. But, perhaps the question merits reconsideration. One could argue that the definition of ‘Christian’ has been so attenuated that Catholicism no longer qualifies. For many today, the adjective ‘Christian’ is no longer spelled with the upper case ‘C’. To be ‘Christian’ with a capital ‘C’ is too limiting, too defining. Better to be ‘christian’ with a lower case ‘c’, a less defining and therefore less demanding descriptor. One needn’t look far to see that for many soi-disant Christians their religion is what they choose it to be. For them, to be Christian…

Since the mysticism of Jerusalem, the philosophy of Athens, and the governance of Rome joined forces two millennia ago western civilization as we know it has developed and continues to do so throughout the world. Though with occasional setbacks and reversals, its progress has been forward in terms of the  expansion of the material, moral and intellectual welfare of the world’s denizens. We, the heirs of this heritage, believe the path for this progress is and has been the will of Providence. If we follow this path – and we are at liberty not to – we will attain the fulfillment intended for us at the time of our creation. This comes as no surprise. We are creatures of a Creator who since the beginning of time has held us in a covenantal relationship whereby, if we cooperate, we will be restored to the eternal home for which we were…

Yesterday, throughout the hours marking the inauguration of our forty-seventh president, the blessings of the Almighty were extensively and repeatedly invoked. Those attending the ceremonies, indeed the viewership around the globe, were undoubtedly – at least momentarily –  struck by the manifestation of the religious fervor which seemed to grip our national leaders. While the sincerity of their prayers is not to be questioned, one may wonder what sentiments or expectations passed through their hearts and minds as they uttered and responded to them.  We Americans are sensitive to the faith, or lack of faith, others may have. We would consider it bad form, if not outright offense, to pass judgment on how others pray, or don’t pray. To the extent that we have one, our shared religion is what’s referred to as a civic religion, the limited tenets of which have generally to do with belief in a deity…

Even now, two millennia after that first Pentecost, the Great Commission of our Lord recorded in Matthew’s Gospel –‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations’ – continues to unfold. It is a fruitful exercise to reflect on the challenges Jesus’ disciples faced soon after the birth of the Church and the subsequent acceptance and rejection they experienced to their announcement of the Good News. Would it be fair, however, to say that today the ignorance and unbelief his disciples encounter is of a different kind?. Global communications being as they are, one would be hard pressed to deny that while universal conversion has not yet occurred, at least the awareness of the Christian faith is universal.  The difference today is not ignorance per se. Rather it is a distorted understanding, or lack of interest, or outright rejection of the faith. That distorted understanding exists should not surprise us. Not…

Romance is in the air. For the past month or so television audiences have indulged themselves in the visual tonic brought to them by the unfailingly engaging series of Hallmark Christmas movies.  Given the bad mood in which our society has been immersed in recent years, the popularity of these hour-long respites should come as no surprise. For those willing to reflect on it, the Christmas season should be a reminder that romance is always in the air. In fact, the greatest romance of all time is that timeless romance related to the ‘holyday’ we celebrate this week:  “For God so loved the world that he gave is one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). This great romance begins at the creation of the world. God is the Creator. God is love. The nature of love is to give…

If the word does not yet exist, it should. Mononomism would refer to the prevailing practice in our society whereby no one uses his last name. Everyone identifies himself or is identified by others only by his first name. Each of us ‘goes by’ only one name. We’ve become a mononomistic culture. Fifty years ago, in more formal times, this practice was unusual. Bank tellers were the exception. Mostly women, they used only their first names for security purposes. Today, however, the first-name-only convention is widely in vogue. Perhaps this is because of the putative appeal of informality. Or, more disturbingly, perhaps it is the desire for the general anonymity concealing one’s last name provides. This reflection is prompted by my recent visit to a local branch of a national bank. The ‘customer representative’ who attended to me introduced himself only by his first name, ‘George’. He was a young…

In 1863 Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. In 1925 Pius XI instituted the last Sunday of the liturgical year as the Feast of Christ the King. One wonders if the President and the Pontiff are somewhere remarking on the significant coincidence that the day of national Thanksgiving falls between the feast of Christ the King and the first Sunday of Advent. The former presages the glorious destiny that awaits our redeemed world. The latter reminds us of the arrival of ‘the Way’ we are invited to follow in order to accomplish that destiny. This calendrical coincidence of Thanksgiving falling between these two special Sundays brings to mind the role of the food all of us hopefully will be enjoying this week.  Among other things, Thanksgiving is a celebration of plentiful meals, the food we eat for physical nourishment. This is the purpose of food,…

“And so I tell you, everyone of men’s sins and blasphemies will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Sprit will not be forgiven…..either in this world or the next” (Mt. 12:31)  As a kid I didn’t understand Jesus’ admonition about this ‘one unforgivable sin’ recorded in Mathhew’s Gospel.  In a spiritual work of mercy with which she instructed her ignorant son, my mother explained it to me.  Fundamentally, the sin against the Holy Spirit is obstinate pride, and it manifests itself in many ways.  Two examples are illustrative. One is the conviction that we do not need God. In his book “The Drama of Atheist Humanism” authored over eighty years ago, Henri de Lubac presaged this dangerous mindset so prevalent in today’s technological world: “ …in his desire for a liberation whose instrument must be technology, man goes to the point of renouncing everything that makes his condition dependent and…

A phrase making its way around the media these past few weeks is “the enemy within”. Those who spout it no doubt are referring to different enemies. For me, the phrase brings to mind the famous quote in the Pogo cartoon strip on Earth Day in 1971: “We have seen the enemy, and the enemy is us!”. In this celebrated cartoon the reference is to us, ourselves, and our mistreatment of the environment. However, there is another, more sinister, way in which we are our worst enemy. It concerns not the ecological splendor of the world we inhabit, but rather the mysterious splendor of the humanity we share. Consciously or otherwise, we are allowing the acidic influence of secularism to corrode the very core of our humanity, our conviction that the spirit of God dwells within us and guides us. Secularism in the Trojan horse we blithely admit into our…

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.So, He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all…” (Lk.21) We are taught that through the sacramental life of the Church, its ‘sacramental economy’, the Holy Spirit mysteriously empowers the significant events of our lives with divine grace. While not necessarily a significant event, the above well-known story of the widow’s mite demonstrates something about sacramental efficacy. From the lips of Jesus, we learn that the seemingly meager contribution of the poor widow is worth “more than all” the abundant gifts of the rich donors. From the perspective of our Lord this modest donation of her mites is spiritually potent, a kind of ‘might’.   What is it that makes this so? What invisible impulse prompts the widow’s sacrifice?  Are our post-modern…

Is culture dynamic? Does its dynamism have a destiny or telos? Is there a vitalizing force that supports and promotes it? Can culture devolve from a state of vigorous flourishment to one of listless function and eventually to one of inevitable floundering?  These questions are not ones most of us ask. We are beneficiaries of the millennia old Judeo-Christian culture and, admittingly or otherwise, already know or intuit the answers. If we do purposefully reflect on the nature of culture (an exercise lamentably uncommon) we realize that intrinsic to it is the concept of ‘cult’ which is religious devotion. Our culture is the fruit of the inculturation of the Good News of the Gospel into the Greco-Roman civilization as it has evolved and expanded through the centuries to the present. The vivifying force of our culture – with its morality, its jurisprudence, its aspirations etc. – has fundamentally been ‘fear…

Like tiny patches of blue peeping through stormy skies, references to cultural renaissance are appearing, albeit infrequently, in today’s troubled atmosphere.  Just as we are certain there is light above the clouds, do we dare believe these encouraging references to a cultural reawakening are harbingers of a more fulfilling future? What does cultural renaissance imply anyway? Are the any ‘green shoots’ indicating that one is underway?  The term seems to have different connotations. For those eager to escape any links with the past and its perceived limitations on personal freedom mention of a cultural renaissance is an alarming threat. For others it is an irresistible invitation to return to ‘the good old days’ when law and order were recognized as regnant, and the world at least seemed unchanging and more settled. Given the sense of hopelessness that pervades much of our world, one might wonder if a cultural renaissance –…