We often think of the early Christian community in Jerusalem as being a model of the ideal Christian community. How is that community described in the Acts of the Apostles? “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had
Another important element of the secret to the success of Homeboy Industries is to realize that it is not about helping the suffering or doing for those in need. Such attitudes just reinforce the perception that some people are more worthy or lovable then others. This plays into the despair and self-loathing that leads to
There is a story told by the theologian Lawrence Cunningham, former chairman of the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame, about a student who came to him to sign up for a freshman theology course. The student explained that he was an atheist. He would do the course work, but he didn’t believe
About a century ago a psychologist, Rudolph Otto, described an encounter with the transcendent as a depth experience, which was characterized by awe, as well as fascination. He called these experiences numinous; that is, difficult to describe, yet rooted in our human condition. We need some way of perceiving these experiences, as well as interpreting
Another politics related danger is becoming too strongly associated with one political party or another. The difficulty in the US is that one political party is strongly associated with a pro-life position on abortion but a strongly anti-life position on capital punishment and most other life-related issues. While the other major party is pro-choice on
Over the past few months I have been working my way through the Diocesan Pastoral Plan with my Along the Way reflections. This week I reached the point in the plan’s vision statement where the vision of “helping young children and parents encounter Jesus in a personal way” was the topic of the day. What
What endures isn’t the external but the internal. What endures is our character, as it is shaped by how we react to life circumstances and by the virtue that we incorporate into our lives. We admire the altruistic person who sacrifices himself for another, who honors the responsibilities he has taken on and whose word
The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is a play by Christopher Marlow, an Elizabethan playwright and contemporary of William Shakespeare. The play is based on a German folktale and was reworked centuries later by the great German author Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. This is the story of a brilliant but
The word “Catholic” means universal. which is frustratingly ambiguous. What exactly does universal mean? We argue that universal means every place. So the Catholic church is every place. Christians are to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world. This is what Christ commanded as he ascended into heaven (described in Matthew 28:19). Universal also means everyone. All people are
Years ago, I attended a conference for non-profit organizations from around the Pacific. The conference was held on the island of Morea in Tahiti. Living conditions were simple. The discussion at the conference was quite open and sometimes contentious, as people felt passionately about the issues being discussed. While the conference was sponsored by the
