MP3 players loaded with spiritual material reach thousands of soldiers
Frontline Faith, a Catholic nonprofit, gives MP3 players loaded with the Mass, stories and prayers to active-duty members of the military.
Spirituality
Conference helps young adults focus on social justice
First Person: High school and college students convened in Washington, D.C., to discuss social justice at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice.
A different kingdom
Today’s feast would have created huge problems for Jesus’ earliest followers.
Scripture scholars and church historians often point out the conflicts the historical Jesus and his first disciples experienced when their Jewish reform movement came into contact with the Roman Empire.
A leper's dance of gratitude
Soul Seeing: If you had leprosy and lost almost everything, would you still be able to smile and do a dance to a silent tune of gratitude?
Parousia postponed
It’s impossible to understand today’s first and third readings without an appreciation of the idea of biblical apocalyptic literature.
The Bible isn’t a book, it’s a library. Not only does it include books written by different authors at various times, but, like any library, it contains works composed in different genres. We need only walk into our local library and look at the names above the bookshelves to surface those genres: history, fiction, reference, biography, etc.
Scriptures give us extraordinary examples of generosity
This morning’s Scriptures give us some extraordinary examples of generosity and sharing of goods. Both the first lesson and the Gospel lesson give us the example of the poor, even the poorest of the poor, sharing everything they have. That widow from Zarepheth who is encountered by Elijah asking her for food tells him, “This is all I have, the last cup of flour and this little bit of oil. When I bake the bread and my son and I eat it, we will die.”
St. Dorothy Day? Controversial, yes, but bishops push for canonization
Chicago Cardinal Francis George urged bishops to enlist Day in battle against the Obama administration's contraception mandate and endorsement of gay rights.
Two daring women
Jesus chose unlikely role models for his disciples to emulate. In a society where children were regarded as the property of their fathers, with no rights or voice of their own, Jesus set forth a child and claimed that the kingdom of God belongs to “such as these.” He also held up people who were thought to be ritually unclean or even sinful because of a physical malady or their ethnicity (the Gerasene demoniac, the woman with a hemorrhage in Mark 5; the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7; the boy with a demon in Mark 9; blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10).
Religious protections are worth keeping
My Table is Spread: Religious freedom does not mean the freedom to think, a power, one presumes, even oppressive regimes cannot hold over citizens.
Cardinal Bernardin's gift fits all sizes
Soul Seeing: News of Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin's death brought the city of broad shoulders to its knees.
Pages
Blogs and Columns
NCR Email Alerts
Sign up to get NCR updates by email. Existing users: change your preferences here. Enter your email address in the box below and click “Go.”
In This Issue
May 10-23, 2013
- Illinois parish's ESL program welcomes all
- A different Mary assumes the stage
- A question few seem to consider when the US wages war afar
- [Print Edition Only] Special Section: Summer Listings
Not all of our content is online. Subscribe to receive all the news and features you won't find anywhere else.