X-ian

Some readers may remember when the cheerful greeting “Happy Holidays” became a popular and convenient replacement for the traditional “Merry Christmas”. The intent was seemingly harmless as the former was indefinite enough to include reference to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year celebrations. The same principle…

 Trado, tradere, tradidi….

“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another”.  Contemplating this quotation, readers who remember their high school Latin might recall having to conjugate the verb  ‘tradere’, the translation of which is ‘to hand over’ or ‘to hand…

Not by Bread Alone

Since its inception twenty-six years ago the donors of the National Catholic Community Foundation have requested thousands of grants be made with an aggregate value exceeding $30 million. To appreciate the geographic dispersion of these grants and the wide variety of recipients Readers might visit…

Pro-choice….Anti-discrimination

The media is abuzz with rumors that extraterrestrial beings are monitoring our planet. Surely, if these visitors are even nominally intelligent, they must be amused by us homo sapiens and our habit of linguistic contradiction. Consider the popular uses of the terms pro-choice and  discrimination. …

Noun or verb?

Are you a logophilic nerd? Are you inebriated by verbal nuance, troubled by the mutability in the meaning of words?  If so, have no fear. You’re not alone and your condition may be instructive. For instance, it is illustrative to consider the different implications of…

Teaching Spiritual Things Spiritually

Because of their interest in the works of the Church around the world, our donors are aware of the vibrant growth the faith is experiencing in the southern hemisphere. Parish communities are expanding, churches are bursting at the seams during Sunday liturgies, and – especially…

Rebounding the Course of Evolution

“Do we accept the idea, strongly supported by fact, that the individual man cannot achieve his wholeness….except in solidarity with all other men, present, past and future? If we do, the awareness aroused in us of being a responsible element in a rebounding course of…

Unicity and Aseity

The scandal of particularity is a phrase which means different things to different people. For many, it refers to God’s selection of the Jews to be his Chosen People through whom the salvation of the world would be wrought. Why would he bestow this privilege…

CST and Philanthropy

Contrary to what some might think, Catholic social teaching (CST) is not a modern concept. It is rooted in scripture, in the deliberations of the early Church, and in the subsequent writings of numerous theologians and philosophers. The popular understanding is that CST attained its…

Self-service or self-help?

Readers older than I may recall the Horn and Hardart Automats in New York and Philadelphia in the 1900s. By placing a few coins in a slot a hungry customer could open one of many small glass windows and retrieve a reasonably fresh meal. It…