ach-logo-en.svg

Columns

Europe and nothingness

By George Weigel
In the wake of the horrific jihadist attack on the Paris-based journal Charlie Hebdo, the trope “satirical magazine” was regularly deployed to explain Charlie’s character and content. But that’s not quite right. And what’s wrong about it – when linked to the sentiment expressed on placards reading “We are all Charlie Hebdo” – suggests just […]
1/27/15
Reading Time 3 min

Trusting and transformed

By
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk 1:17). By these simple words Our Lord calls the apostles Peter and Andrew, James and John. Obviously, the words have a unique meaning for them and likewise a particular meaning for all priests. They apply also in a broader way to everyone. The […]
1/21/15
Reading Time 3 min

Home: It’s worth it

By Elizabeth Foss
The Christmas boxes are all carefully packed and tucked away until next November. Every year, I fight a little anxiety as I pack them away. “If I’m not here next year, will they know how to find everything? Will they remember where it all goes? Will they be able to make Christmas?” Of course, this […]
1/21/15
Reading Time 3 min

Does the brain control the soul?

By
Q: I am having a problem with the concept of angels. I just completed a 36-hour course, “Understanding the Brain,” at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The brain is an interesting organ of the body. It controls everything in the body. Vision and sound are constructs of the brain. Intelligence is a construct of the […]
1/21/15
Reading Time 4 min

A look at the ‘Great Society’

By Russell Shaw
President Lyndon Baines Johnson had spoken the words “Great Society” before, but on Jan. 4, 1965, he brought the pieces together as a legislative package for Congress. His State of the Union message stirred a remarkable flurry of congressional activity that in short order produced major new programs in civil rights, health care and anti-poverty. […]
1/20/15
Reading Time 3 min

What are you looking for?

By
John the Baptist is standing with two of his disciples when He points to Jesus and states, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Both of John’s disciples immediately begin to follow Jesus who turns around and asks them the penetrating question, “What are you looking for?” What a fantastic question: “What are you looking for?” If […]
1/14/15
Reading Time 3 min

Brimstone for dads

By Soren Johnson
The fire-and-brimstone sermon has gone from being a common fixture of Christian life for our great-grandparents to a much rarer occurrence today. Perhaps that’s why Pope Francis’ pre-Christmas address to the Vatican Curia hit such a chord with so many people, churchgoers or not; no soft touch or “attaboys” for those guys. It was a […]
1/14/15
Reading Time 3 min

When a pet’s death makes us face our mortality

By
After Christmas, a brutal cold descended on my part of the Midwest and ushered in our new year. We returned from our holiday travels to find a light dusting of snow. Most of it had been blown away by the harsh winds of the Plains, but when I awoke in the morning, I discovered that […]
1/13/15
Reading Time 3 min

The shortage of heroes

By Russell Shaw
Let’s face it, 2014 was a rotten year for heroes and hero worship. Sure, the ones it brought were plucky, admirable people who did praiseworthy things. But all too often their good deeds were upstaged by the misdeeds of individuals in many walks of life – entertainers, politicians, sports figures, even clergy – jostling one […]
1/13/15
Reading Time 3 min

Popular

Popular