There is exciting news in Philadelphia. Pope Francis has elevated the Miraculous Medal Shrine to Basilica status (Miraculousmedal.org) It is now the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Readers not already familiar with this Shrine will find the following excerpt from its…
Author: Dana Robinson
‘Algorethics’ and Purpose
“Artificial Intelligence Will Cause Humans to Think in New Ways” is the title of a recent, thought-provoking article in the Wall Street Journal co-authored by Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher. The writers expound on the risks , benefits and unprecedented challenges of Artificial…
Covenant House
The concept of covenant has its beginning as early as the Garden of Eden and runs through the stories of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jeremiah. At the Last Supper Jesus speaks of the blood to be poured out for the ‘new covenant’. A covenant describes…
Blinding Clarity
When I was young and still possessed of intellectual docility a French Jesuit introduced me to the role of paradox in faith. Paradox, rather than invalidating its tenets, leads us to a deeper understanding of faith. Examples abound: the servant/Savior; God/man; first will be last;…
Empty Tabernacles
The tabernacle was empty, its vigil lamp extinguished. Hope had abandoned the sanctuary. An oppressive emptiness replaced it. I don’t remember to what it referred, but this mysterious passage appeared recently on my computer screen like some dark prophecy. On the same day I read…
Catholic Relief Services
(Residents of the United States of America who are not already aware of the organization would be edified by the history and mission of Catholic Relief Services which began its ministry after World War II. Excerpts from the website of CRS -www.crs.org – appear here).…
‘Gated Paradise’
This description appears in a real estate ad I recently read. The intention is clear and, one assumes, innocent. But, the words do provoke the question: can paradise be gated? People have different opinions about the existence of paradise, and believers have varying concepts of…
Heart of the Nation
Following in our Savior’s footsteps, good works keep His Way visible by bringing Sunday TV Mass, prayer publications, and online inspiration to Catholics who cannot get out to church. Heart of the Nation becomes a blessing for multitudes in times of illness, frailty, inclement weather,…
Gravity and Grace
Some readers may remember the chorus to the song “My Grandfather’s Clock”: ‘Ninety years without slumbering, tick tock, tick tock, his life’s seconds numbering, tick tock, tick tock, but it stopped short never to go again when the old man died’. This refrain came to…
Sacerdotal
The simultaneous appearance this year of the beginning of Hannukah and the fourth Sunday of Advent invites Christians to reflect on our Jewish roots. St. Paul’s arboreal image in Romans 11 comes to mind: the wild branch of Christianity is grafted to and nourished by…