Isn’t it curious that in our world of instantaneous communication so many of us feel ‘unrooted.’ Could it be that the dizzying volume and array of distractions that invade our daily lives elicit in us a reaction so necessarily defensive and indiscriminate that we respond…
Author: Dana Robinson
A frenzy of omnipotence with no boundaries
“The weakening of the family finds one of its causes in a culture that more and more promotes extreme individualism. The strengthening of individual freedoms – something that of course we can be proud of – becomes a negative if it has no limits, because…
The Vocation of Family
The following are remarks delivered by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia in Taiwan recently at the 20th Asia Pacific Congress on Faith, Life and Family organized by Human Life International (HLI). I want my message today to help you communicate the Gospel of the Family and of…
Dumbing Down
Where are the prophets? Where are those voices in the wilderness to challenge the pressures of complacency? Who will proclaim the unpopular? Who dares state that our much touted comfort and security mask an ennui that now has triumphed? When a vibrant community nourished by…
Feeding the shepherds
According to statistics provided by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), in the United States there were 19,620 Catholic parishes and 52,124 priests (diocesan and religious) in 1990. In 2014 the numbers had dropped to 17,483 parishes and 38,275 priests. Regardless of…
The risk of encounter
Today I lunched with a good friend whose disquisitions on matters ecclesiological are always illuminating. As usual, I emerged from this delightful reunion edified by the possession of new insight. In a religious context, the word ‘faithful’ has different connotations. For some it is a…
Vigil lamps
Have you ever entered a Catholic church and, upon discovering an extinguished vigil lamp, immediately felt immersed in emptiness? The usually beckoning flame was not there to reassure and promote your awareness of the presence of the Divine. This is what vigil lamps do. People…
Making disciples of all people
When asked what is the greatest commandment Jesus replied that it is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Mt: 22) and that the second greatest is to love our neighbor as our self. Many of us who call ourselves Christians too…
The challenge of liberty
The coincidence of the recently released Papal Encyclical Laudato Si and the Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage prompts this reflection on the challenge of liberty. The Court’s decision is indicative of our society’s tolerance for the disregard of natural law and the abandonment…
Do as I say, not as I do?
On Tuesday, May 12, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, met with several dozen lay Catholic men and women in Washington, D.C., to hear their thoughts on the situation of “the family” in the United States and on how the…