Author: Look at church history from crowd's perspective
Diana Butler Bass says in the 21st century, the Catholic church has become less of an institution and more of a church of the people of God.
Spirituality
An evolving church
A week has passed since our annual celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, the central tenet that informs and inspires our worship together for the remainder of the Easter season -- and always. Although it may not be clearly evident at first glance, we have made our way from one period of our salvation history into another. We have turned the page from the time of Jesus of Nazareth, who came as one of us, who went about doing good, who suffered for his goodness and for the truth and justice of his teaching, who died innocently for the sake of sinners and who rose to live eternally in glory.
The mystery of the rolled-away stone
Easter reflection: Holy Week spurs us to recall that first Easter morning dawning on a world not unlike our own.
Time to reunite all Catholics with a new Nicaea
Opinion: We stand at a crossroads. Catholics are deeply divided, and we need a new attempt to unify the people of God.
A new perspective
On Easter morn we naturally expect to hear Christ’s disciples leading us in an alleluia chorus, filled with joy at the Resurrection. For that, we would have done better to attend the Easter Vigil with its history of salvation, the singing of the Exultet and the angels’ announcement that Christ had been raised. What a comedown to hear this morning’s Gospel proclamation of the disciples’ disconcerted confusion!
Seeing others first
Each Gospel’s passion narrative is unique.
Though they might sound the same to the untrained ear, each was created to convey the evangelist’s particular theology, sprung from years of reflecting on the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Faith is forever new
Our sacred Scriptures contain many stories about how God dealt with people thousands of years ago. Even before I actually picked up a real Bible, I learned about some of these awesome feats in Bible history class. Yahweh delivered the Israelites from a catastrophic flood, led them through the Red Sea “dry-shod,” even stopped the sun’s course so they could win battles. Someone would be out of his or her mind not to follow a God who regularly staged such dramatic events.
Georgetown conference explores secularism
On Feb. 20, a conference at Georgetown University here focused on cleaning up what many Americans consider a dirty word -- secularism.
The goal of the conference, called “Secularism on the Edge: United States, France and Israel,” was to define what secularism is and what it is not. It drew participants from all three countries.
“[Secularism] is a guarantee of two things: freedom of religion and freedom from religion,” said conference organizer Jacques Berlinerblau, Georgetown professor of Jewish civilization.
Jews worldwide see an ally in Pope Francis
Jews worldwide welcome Pope Francis as a friend, pointing to his reaction to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in his native Argentina, the deadliest bombing in the country's history.
The cosmic outcast
Soul Seeing: The trouble with the crucifix is we no longer see it, but rather filter the image through our eyes of faith.
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In This Issue
June 7-20, 2013
- Pope spotlights social teaching with blunt calls for ethical economy
- We face clear moral choices in priorities of our federal budget
- Mother Tekla: the most powerful woman in Rome
- [Print Edition Only] Special Section: Ministries PREVIEW
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