ach-logo-en.svg

Columns

Make the first move

By Soren Johnson
We should say no to soundbites, but hypocrite that I am, I propose here a four-word distillation of Catholic faith: “Make the first move.” The cliche came to mind during a recent evening family prayer time. “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,” my 10-year-old son said as he took a turn leading a decade […]
4/8/15
Reading Time 3 min

Is the devil real?

By
Is the devil real? Here is Msgr. Ronald Knox on that: “It is stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the devil, when he is the only explanation of it.” Msgr. Knox, eminent British convert, author, retreat master and translator of the Bible, may have been indulging in irony. But irony doesn’t […]
4/7/15
Reading Time 3 min

In a world of brotherly love

By John Garvey
Every year around this time, I go away with my three brothers to play golf for an extended weekend. Next to Christmas, it is my favorite time of the year. We have taken on greater family and professional responsibilities. Still, in more than 20 years, not one of us has missed our golf trip. It […]
4/7/15
Reading Time 3 min

The right of every child

By Arland Nichols
Surrogacy became mainstream when, in the fourth season of the popular sitcom, “Friends,” the ever-spacey Phoebe became the surrogate mother of her brother’s children in the episode titled “The one with the embryos.” The episode’s writer noted that never before had this been seen on television – the story arc was considered “risky,” and writers […]
4/1/15
Reading Time 3 min

The accumulation problem

By Christina Capecchi
Carly Poppalardo had blisters on her feet after she drove home from an eight-hour session of professional organizing, threw a bag of Trader Joe’s pre-cut veggies and simmer sauce on the stove, flipped on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and sank into the couch. “I was high on adrenaline,” Poppalardo said, “but I was […]
4/1/15
Reading Time 3 min

The grim reality of betrayal

By Elizabeth Foss
There is so much in the Gospel of the days leading to the Crucifixion that makes me squirm. When I read it, and I put myself in the scene, I wonder what I would have done. Would I have stayed awake in the Garden of Gethsamane? I’d like to think so, but I know well […]
4/1/15
Reading Time 3 min

The meaning of ‘dewfall’ in the Eucharistic prayer

By Fr. William Saunders
Q: I have wondered about a new phrase in Eucharistic Prayer II: The priest says “like the dewfall.” It sounds sort of funny. – A reader in Philadelphia A: Admittedly, the phrase “like the dewfall” does sound “sort of funny,” or at least very poetic at first hearing. Please keep in mind that this is […]
4/1/15
Reading Time 4 min

Death, where is your sting?

By
Paradoxically, the first moments at the empty tomb of the Risen Jesus were not joyful, but instead filled with fear and confusion, according to the Gospel of St. John. Mary Magdalene was stunned to see the empty tomb on that first Easter morning. Fearing foul play, she ran to tell the Apostles, and, shocked by […]
4/1/15
Reading Time 3 min

The euthanasia debate

By Russell Shaw
When religion and secularism butt heads on public policy – a regular occurrence these days – religion typically is obliged to fight with one hand tied behind it. Unfair, you say? Certainly it is, but that’s how the game is played now. Consider the escalating argument over euthanasia and its first cousin, assisted suicide. For […]
3/25/15
Reading Time 3 min

Cardinal Pell’s mission impossible

By George Weigel
Shortly after George Pell was named Archbishop of Melbourne, he instituted several reforms at the archdiocesan seminary, including daily Mass and the daily celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, both of which had fallen by the wayside in the preceding years. The seminary faculty, enthusiastic proponents of “Catholic Lite,” thought to call the archbishop’s […]
3/25/15
Reading Time 3 min

Popular

Popular