Entering a church, we Catholics reach for the holy water font, dip our fingers in, and, with dripping fingers, make the Sign of the Cross.
Reading and viewing Catholic media has a lot of similarities with that act of blessing one’s self.
The new evangelization has focused on bringing Catholics back to the church so that the word of God and his sacraments can take hold of us and join us to him. At the same time, there is much work to be done for Catholics to bring God into the world.
On August 15, the feast of the Assumption celebrates Mary taken into heaven body and soul. This is by the power exerted by her son’s suffering, triumph and ascent into heaven. Where Jesus is, Mary is, since Mary’s faith and love for him are unsullied by cynicism or bitterness, despite piercing sorrow. She believes the divine promises without pretense or hesitation.
The Catholic Spirit invited readers in its Dec. 20 edition to respond to the question: What is the best way to respond to the school shooting tragedy in Newtown, Conn.? The following were among the answers we received. Some have been excerpted for space reasons; go online to TheCatholicSpirit.com to read the full responses as well as others we received.
Every time I read this passage, I wonder if I’m limiting God’s options as well. Am I assuming the only answers are (a) or (b)? Am I open to receiving (c) instead?
What is it about these stories — and the Spider-Man tale in particular — that fascinate us? May I suggest that it has something to do with Christianity, more precisely, with the figure around which all of the Christian religion revolves.
Reaching out for Father Joe Metzger of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Norfolk, Va., meant getting fully vested and walking an 11-year-old autistic child through an empty sanctuary so that she would feel comfortable when she received her first Communion with other children a few days later.
Whether we are talking about the Navajo, Masai warriors, or Orthodox Jews, traditional cultures understand that boys have to be brought through a period of trial — some test of skill and endurance — during which they learn the virtues of courage and self-sacrifice.
As Christmas approaches, there is one thing we can be as sure of seeing as Santa Claus and incessant ads for holiday deals: full Catholic churches. As predictable as the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, Catholics of all stripes return to their parish every Christmas, many visiting for the first time since the previous Easter.
