The ubiquitous presence of cell phones and the never dormant social media prompt this question. Does the time so many of us spend gazing at electronic screens serve the purpose of recreation or of distraction? Put more generally, for which of these two purposes do…
Author: Dana Robinson
Two Prepositions
On this national Independence Day it is appropriate for us inhabitants of the U.S.A. to reflect on the nature of freedom. Is our freedom ‘freedom from’ or ‘freedom for’? From and for. How can two prepositions so similar in orthography differ so in implication? Even…
Desecration
Have our post-enlightenment minds slipped so deeply and so inconspicuously into some cultural amnesia that we are no longer accepting of, or even mindful of, what our predecessors believed? Do we flatter ourselves with the hubristic presumption that because we create truth we understand and…
Blessings International
It is perhaps obvious that publishing these “Voices of the Vineyard” provides an opportunity to acquaint oneself with organizations that are advancing the Kingdom. What follows is an article submitted by Blessings International located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (www. Blessing.org). Readers will be encouraged by…
The Gift of Mystery
Mystery surrounds us, but do we honor it? As with grace, do we recognize it as a gift we can either accept or decline? For those of us whose powers of logic have been secularized, it is perhaps understandable that we tend to dismiss the…
Nothing’s the Matter
Irony intrigues. Isn’t it curious how a commonplace expression can mean something contrary to its intended significance? “Shameless behavior”, for instance, should mean conduct above reproach. However, it ironically is interpreted as conduct full of shame. “Nothing’s the matter” is another phrase inviting such reflection.…
Two Fish, Five Loaves
“Nihil mihi deerit”. There are alternate English renditions of St. Jerome’s translation of the opening verse of Psalm 23 (22). Most readers will recognize “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want”. Others will be familiar with “The Lord is my shepherd I shall…
Malteser International
Most Catholics in this country are aware of American organizations, religious and otherwise, that provide emergency relief and development assistance to poverty-stricken areas around the world. Because of American generosity, these agencies are able to effectively and consistently much-needed aid. While not an American, Malteser…
The Paradox of Emptiness
“They grew as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who had not believed in the Lord, their God. They rejected his statutes, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They followed emptiness and became empty.” (2 Kings: 17) The…
Path of Totality
What fecund ambiguity! Clearly, the phrase ‘path of totality’ was used unambiguously earlier this week as the media covered the trajectory of the moon’s shadow over a large swath of our nation and millions of viewers witnessed the total blackout of the sun. But an…