In the welter of today’s unsettled world those of us old enough to remember the Baltimore Catechism might in retrospect be struck by the astonishing simplicity of its pedagogy. To the question ‘why did God create us’ its brief answer was ‘to know, love and…
Author: Dana Robinson
Hope is Its Calling Card
Addis Ababa, Amman, Asmara, Beirut, Ernakulam, Jerusalem, the Caucasus, Ukraine. What do these disparate locations have in common? In each of them resides a regional team of an international organization which is celebrating its centennial this year. In 1926 Pope Pius XI consolidated the Holy…
Taking the Lead
The support donors in the National Catholic Community Foundation community provide for Catholic education is noteworthy. Among them there is a prevailing understanding that Catholic education transcends apprenticeship in the basic skills of life by inviting students to explore various paths to Truth. This steady…
‘Priests are just like men’
“Priests are just like men”. Years ago it was not unusual to hear this innocent but confused exclamation from elementary students as they learned about the seven sacraments in catechism class. Today it seems this callow confusion among youngsters has given way to something more…
Seventy-Five Years
Congratulations to the International Catholic Migration Commission for having been in existence for seventy-five years! Among the donors of the National Catholic Community Foundation are supporters of international organizations like ICMC. It is a privilege to highlight it here. Since our expulsion from the Garden…
In God we Trust?
Although it appeared on coins as early as the Civil War, it was during the Eisenhower administration that Congress, by unanimous consent, approved ‘In God We Trust’ as an official national motto. One might ask that if it were proposed today would the motto attract…
Liberty to the Captives
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon us because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,…
Presence, Relationship, Education
NCCF is pleased to forward this profile on AVSI-USA: The Association of Volunteers in International Service – USA. Like so many of the organizations our donors support, AVSI-USA promotes the works of the Church overseas. It is an effective bridge with which individuals in this…
Rising
Even in the aura of the mind-boggling technology which purports to enhance our ‘quality of life’, pessimism pervades. Violence, addiction, civil and international unrest, the decline of the family, moral decadence all contribute to the sense that our way of life is deteriorating. Some wonder…
Council for Research in Values and Philosophy
“A people without understanding comes to ruin”. These are the words of the prophet Hosea who, addressing the Israelites in the northern kingdom in the eighth century before the Assyrian capture of Samaria, admonished them for their willful ignorance of the commands of God.Though addressed…