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…
Author: Dana Robinson
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…
Noise and Toys
Today thousands around our nation will receive the sign of the cross traced in ashes on their foreheads and hear some equivalent to that ancient Ash Wednesday admonition: “Remember, man, that thou are dust and unto dust thou shalt return”. In our increasingly secularized society,…
Christian Patina
Are Catholics Christian? This question has often been posed by those poorly informed about the history of the Church. Such ignorance has not been uncommon in the past. Suffice it to say that since the followers of Christ were first called ‘Christians’ in Antioch two…
Road Map
Since the mysticism of Jerusalem, the philosophy of Athens, and the governance of Rome joined forces two millennia ago western civilization as we know it has developed and continues to do so throughout the world. Though with occasional setbacks and reversals, its progress has been…
Hortatory or Imperative?
Yesterday, throughout the hours marking the inauguration of our forty-seventh president, the blessings of the Almighty were extensively and repeatedly invoked. Those attending the ceremonies, indeed the viewership around the globe, were undoubtedly – at least momentarily – struck by the manifestation of the religious…
Nashville Catholic Radio
(Nashville Catholic Radio has recently joined the NCCF community and has graciously provided this write-up about the organization, its history, and its growing success in a part of the country where many would think such success was unlikely. Readers will be impressed by its story,…
Beautiful Feet
Even now, two millennia after that first Pentecost, the Great Commission of our Lord recorded in Matthew’s Gospel –‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations’ – continues to unfold. It is a fruitful exercise to reflect on the challenges Jesus’ disciples faced soon after…
Companionship
Romance is in the air. For the past month or so television audiences have indulged themselves in the visual tonic brought to them by the unfailingly engaging series of Hallmark Christmas movies. Given the bad mood in which our society has been immersed in recent…