“Free to choose but not free not to choose”. In his recently published book The Hell There Is Msgr. Charles Pope forcefully warns us against our insouciant (if not nonexistent) regard for what awaits us after our earthly sojourn. We are at liberty to choose…
Author: Dana Robinson
Slope or Precipice?
“The falcon cannot hear the falconer, things fall apart. The centre cannot hold”. William Butler Yeats wrote these lines in 1919 in “The Second Coming”, his celebrated poem prompted by the ravages of the First World War. Now, a century later, persistent echoes of his…
Restless Discipleship
Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elevated to the Chair of Peter. He is an American, a one-time head of the Augustinian Order, and a missionary who spent twenty years ministering to the poor in Peru. Is it a surprise that he chose as his papal…
Sensus In-Fidei
The white smoke has arisen. A new pope has been elected. Around the world hope is reinforced. One would be hard pressed to gainsay the need for it in the native land of Pope Leo XIV. Conventional wisdom has it that the USA is ‘post-Christian’.…
The ‘Non-denoms’
“Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out”. This was once a popular aphorism. Even so, while its popularity today is lost, its significance isn’t. What brings this fact to mind is the rise of what is called ‘non-denominational Christianity’. What is non-denominational…
It Starts With ‘You’
Lately, the sudden preoccupation with pronouns has received much media coverage. Unfortunately, this attention has not been aroused by concern over that annoyingly ubiquitous grammatical violation ‘between you and I’, but rather it is due to the conflation of the words ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. Perhaps…
Little Sisters of the Assumption
It is common knowledge that as religious Orders diminish in numbers the institutions they have founded and operated are faced with the challenge of perpetuating their particular charism as laity assume the responsibilities of ownership and management. Think of schools and hospitals established by the…
Holy Thursday
A cross and a crucifix, Easter Sunday and Good Friday, pastors and priests: the parallel distinctions in each of these three dyads is worthy of reflection on this Holy Thursday, especially as they relate to the sacrament of Holy Orders. A cross is a crucifix…
Hell-bent
Is the fact that this once popular phrase has fallen into disuse significant? The expression means stubbornly or recklessly determined, and its implication is a course of action destined for disastrous failure. One might ask: “Are we hell-bent?” If so, it is sobering to be…
Saecula Saeculorum
Readers may recognize ‘saecula saeculorum’ as the final words in the Latin version of the prayer ‘Glory be to the Father’. The English translation of this phrase is ‘world without end’, a reference to eternity. Ironically, ‘saecula saeculorum’ shares its etymological root with our modern…