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…
Author: Dana Robinson
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…
Easter Hope
We met in sixth grade. I was a new kid in the school and felt very much out of place. Maybe it was his gentle manner, or that he was the oldest in the class. Whatever the reason, in his quiet and unobtrusive way Kyle…
Dismas
Two passages in the New Testament – one at the beginning and the other at the end of Jesus’ public ministry – illustrate a foundational tenet in Catholic philanthropy. The first is Jesus’ proclamation soon after his baptism by John: “The time is fulfilled, and…
A Grave Matter?
Recently I participated in the burial service of a family member. It was a peaceful ceremony led by a priest and attended by numerous family members and friends. The urn containing the deceased’s ashes was handled respectfully as it was eventually lowered into the grave…
Bridges and Boundaries
Readers may recall that in the past this column has reported on the work of TOBET, the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team, headquartered in Texas (www.tobet.org). Monica Ashour, the creative and indefatigable advocate of Pope John Paul II’s teachings on the theology of the…
Fluidity
“In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, but now, God knows, anything goes. Good authors, too, who once knew better words now only use four-letter word writing prose. Anything goes. The world has gone mad today, and good’s bad…
The Compassion Street Story
Readers will be inspired by this story about Father Paul Mast of the Diocese of Wilmington and the genesis of his tax-exempt foundation Compassion Street, Inc. It also provides the background for the Compassion Street Musical which will be reprised later this Spring in Wilmington.…
Chronic Vigor
When most of us hear the adjective ‘chronic’ we expect what follows will be some form of illness such as diabetes or arthritis. What are we to think, then, of the phrase ‘chronic vigor’? In his magisterial treatise, An Essay on the Development of…