By Fr. Jeff Ryan Miraflor, SJ. It isn’t a new revelation that the Church is in a crisis. Rampant clerical sex abuse. Bishops have lost our trust. Public squabbling. Endless scandals and media revelations. What has been the result? Division. People leaving the Church. People like…
Author: Dana Robinson
Modern Marcions
“The new lies hidden in the old and the old is unveiled in the new”. This is how St. Augustine described the organic relationship between the Old and New Testaments. He explained how passages in the former implicitly presage passages in the latter. Examples would…
"Safeguarding Human Dignity at Every Stage of Life"
Dear Reader: The arrival of Christmas is a perennial reminder that as a result of the Incarnation we are all children of God and therefore possess an indelible dignity marked by ’radical equality’. I urge you to read these remarks by Archbishop Paglia, President of the…
"For the love of God"
When was the last time you heard this expression, so common just a generation ago? It seems to have dropped from our vernacular. My impression is that grace before meals is also on the decline. If so, one wonders how families, unused to such prayer,…
“The Poor Should Never Be Treated Poorly”
Pure evil. I heard these words spoken in reference to one of the murderous events that have occurred in our nation over the past month. While emotionally I resonate with the sentiment they express, intellectually I question the syntactical accuracy of these two words. How…
Giving to Those Who Have Given Generously
David Brooks volunteers at My Brother’s Keeper in Easton, Mass. He recently established an annuity with Ignatian Volunteer Corps. I write this reflection during the Lenten season in which the Church calls us to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I particularly want to reflect on almsgiving…
Non-fake Media
I had blood drawn this week for a routine physical exam. Though I arrived in time for my appointment I was obliged to wait a half hour in a sitting room with a dozen others. I didn’t mind the delay as I had brought reading…
St. Gaspar Melchior Balthazar del Bufalo
I’ll tip my cap to those of you who recognize the name of this saint and know the name of the Congregation he founded. (No fair consulting the Magi).* One treasured benefit of being involved with the NCCF community is meeting individuals and communities who…
A Provocative Bumper Sticker
Instead of taking the bus I sometimes drive to work, a change that allows me to study bumper stickers. Recently I came across this one: “American Values Are Progressive Values”. I thought about this and now wonder if the correct articulation of the bumper’s intended…
Sinister Philanthropy
It may be a neologism. I have never come across it but an awareness of its significance and relevance has grown in me these past few years. Has any of you encountered the word ‘technarchy’? Monarchy is the rule of one; oligarchy the rule of…