Does anyone else wonder where surnames have gone? Today it seems that no one has, or at least uses, his last name. The practice of addressing a stranger by his first name – regardless of his age or ‘station in life’ (to use a superannuated…
Category: Advancing the Kingdom
The image of a grass eating bull
On that wondrous night two millennia ago what did it signify, that jubilant cry of the heavenly host when, announcing the birth of the Savior, they sang “Glory to God in highest”? What is glory? What has it to do with God? How does one…
The Reign of Error
Either because of or in spite of having so many children the man who raised my siblings and me rarely expressed annoyance. His two pet-peeves which I recall were the abuse of the first person pronoun in that grammatical aberration: “between you and I” and…
They disguised their circumcision
As the turbulent calendar year 2020 draws to a close many in our nation this Thanksgiving will be thinking twice about what blessings there are for which to be grateful. Rampant violence, the pandemic, lockdowns, economic duress, et ceteracertainly call into question our national wellbeing.…
“Awokening” or “Awakening”
Was there ever a time when there was no time? To contemplate this oxymoron – addressed by St. Augustine in his City of God – is to bring to mind our belief that in some mysterious way all of us are in God’s hands. Perhaps…
The burden of blessing
Have you ever wondered when and how the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Romans transmogrified from theology to mythology? This question occurred to me recently as I was helping a grandson prepare for his Confirmation. The normal pre-sacrament courses are now virtual and…
Fledgling disciples
“Sing for your supper … songbirds always eat”. This lyric from the Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical, “The Boys from Syracuse” borrows from the ‘Little Tommy Tucker’ nursery rhyme first published in 1744. Its association with singing and children brings to mind a fund recently…
Liberty, for what?
“Liberty, for what? Fools, for what? Let me have a little more time, you work diligently, and I will soon take complete care of you; I will insure you against all risks (except against the loss of liberty, of course); I will marry you off,…
Catholic philanthropy – a mystery in myriad parts
Why Catholic philanthropy? The broad variety of organizations to which NCCF’s trustees have approved distributions over the past twenty-three years suggests to some that our concept of Catholic philanthropy exceeds the bounds of ‘being Catholic’. Our reply, of course, is that the distributions we make…
from or toward?
For my siblings and me Independence Day is a dual celebration, the birth of our nation and the birth of our mother, Josephine. So, we are doubly grateful for this holiday, for the blessings we have enjoyed as a nation and as a family. The…