In 1634 two ships, the Ark and the Dove, brought English Catholics to the shores of Maryland. They arrived on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Father Andrew White, a Jesuit, celebrated what was to be the first Mass in the (English) colonies. (more…)
Category: Advancing the Kingdom
Did the monk and philosopher ever meet?
Over 50 years ago, the English Benedictine Bede Griffiths included a theme in his autobiography, The Golden String, which would be echoed in the Vatican II documents a decade later, namely that all authentic religions contain elements of truth. Speaking of the entire human race…
Without a Wedding Garment
In its 22nd chapter, Matthew’s Gospel contains the parable of the king who gave a wedding feast for his son. One of the men called to attend eschewed the use of a wedding garment (customarily presented to guests as they entered the feast). Upon seeing…
With mature religious inquiry
In a dozen years or so, Yale University will mark the centennial of Catholic ministry on its campus. The growth and development of the Catholic presence at that elite academic institution are remarkable and bode well for the future of the Church. (more…)
Not by Bread Alone
Recently a friend recounted a telling comment expressed by the admissions officer of a local, exclusive social club: “Why are the young adults who join here so lacking in manners? They could learn from the eighth graders over at Nativity Prep who shake your hand…
Crying in the Temple
“And the chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things he did, and the children crying in the temple and saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, were moved with indignation” (more…)
With Salt and Light
Our Lord called on his disciples to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”. Now, two millennia into the advance of the Kingdom the challenge of this call is as formidable as it has ever been. Indeed, with the mind-numbingly…
"I will give her back her vineyards"
Like many organizations featured in this column, Rachel’s Vineyard has received grants from one of the National Catholic Community Foundation donor-advised funds. The advisor on this fund has done us a great service in introducing us to the powerful witness to compassion and hope this…
On the path of insecurity
Youngsters would consider anyone alive 130 years ago as antediluvian. Even for kids with a fifth-grade awareness of history, the 19th century is no more recent than the ninth. For older folk, though, someone alive in 1879 would have been a contemporary of their grandparents,…
"Isaac's Wells Project"
During the second civil war that ravaged the country of Sudan between 1983 and 2003, tens of thousands of boys and girls, especially ones from the predominantly Christian section of Southern Sudan, were displaced or orphaned. Around 20,000 of these boys, most of whom were…