How did the Church grow from a dozen, uneducated men into a religion of over two billion people today? The original disciples of Jesus offered a compelling message to their world. They claimed to follow a God-man who raised himself from the dead, who promised not only to repeat the Resurrection with us, but to …
The Emerging Church movement, a self-described ‘conversation’ among people from many walks of life, has captured my recent interest. Questioning many basic truths and emphases of the Christian story, ‘Emergents’ have become controversial within Protestant Christianity. In theory, they are a diverse group of dreamers, offering fresh perspectives on the Gospel. In practice, they are …
The parable of the Good Samaritan stands tall as this Sunday’s Gospel reading. Earlier this year I gave some talks on this story–one of my favorites–to some parishes around Central Florida. Below are some reflections I wrote for my parish bulletin this week about this tale Jesus presented: In this week’s Gospel reading, a lawyer …
Hunger and homelessness are two unnecessary plagues in America, afflictions that shouldn’t exist in the richest country in world history. The government has recently taken some bold steps, strengthening its commitment to rid our society of these two social ills. During his 2008 campaign, President Obama announced an ambitious goal to end childhood hunger in …
I’ve linked to Fr. Robert Barron many times before on this blog, particularly to his writings, his Youtube videos, and his “Catholicism Project”. I consider him the most articulate and provocative teacher of the Faith today, grasping both the subtleties of theology and the currents of culture. He combines the Saints and Church Fathers, art …
