Category: Advancing the Kingdom

Dear Reader: The arrival of Christmas is a perennial reminder that as a result of the Incarnation we are all children of God and therefore possess an indelible dignity marked by ’radical equality’.  I urge you to read these remarks by Archbishop Paglia, President of the…

When was the last time you heard this expression, so common just a generation ago? It seems to have dropped from our vernacular. My impression is that grace before meals is also on the decline. If so, one wonders how families, unused to such prayer,…

Pure evil. I heard these words spoken in reference to one of the murderous events that have occurred in our nation over the past month. While emotionally I resonate with the sentiment they express, intellectually I question the syntactical accuracy of these two words. How…

I had blood drawn this week for a routine physical exam. Though I arrived in time for my appointment I was obliged to wait a half hour in a sitting room with a dozen others. I didn’t mind the delay as I had brought reading…

I’ll tip my cap to those of you who recognize the name of this saint and know the name of the Congregation he founded.  (No fair consulting the Magi).* One treasured benefit of being involved with the NCCF community is meeting individuals and communities who…

Instead of taking the bus I sometimes drive to work, a change that allows me to study bumper stickers. Recently I came across this one: “American Values Are Progressive Values”. I thought about this and now wonder if the correct articulation of the bumper’s intended…

It may be a neologism. I have never come across it but an awareness of its significance and relevance has grown in me these past few years. Has any of you encountered the word ‘technarchy’? Monarchy is the rule of one; oligarchy the rule of…

As our readers know the National Catholic Community Foundation has been following the peregrinations of Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia these past several years.  Previously the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family the Archbishop has recently been named the President of the Pontifical Academy for…

Jorge Bergoglio ascended the throne of St. Peter five years ago. While this statement is accurate its imagery is incongruous. Far from being ‘above’ the rest of us this Jesuit – like the saint whose name he chose for his pontificate – immerses himself in…

Recently I phoned my good friend, Marcus, to wish him a pleasant birthday. Having known each other since our school days six decades ago we enjoyed reflecting on the changes, both positive and negative, we’ve witnessed since those salad years.  One disturbing area, we agreed,…