The Murrah Bombing occurred 18 years ago today. Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda reflects on that day at her blog, Day by Day.
Jesus Wept - Memorial at the site of the OKC bombing.
Friday, April 19, 2013
April 19 - We Will Never Forget
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Providence College Professor Reflects on Pope's Embrace of His Disabled Son
Paul Gondreau reflects that
our culture often looks upon the disabled: as weak, needy individuals who depend so much upon others, and who contribute little, if anything, to those around them. Pope Francis’ embrace of my son yesterday turns this logic completely on its head and, in its own small yet powerful way, shows once again how the wisdom of the Cross confounds human wisdom. Why is the whole world so moved by images of this embrace? A woman in the Square, moved to tears by the embrace, perhaps answered it best when she to my wife afterward, “You know, your son is here to show people how to love.” To show people how to love.
The lesson my disabled son gives stands as a powerful testament to the dignity and infinite value of every human person, especially of those the world deems the weakest and most “useless.” Through their sharing in the “folly” of the Cross, the disabled are, in truth, the most powerful and the most productive among us.
Friday, March 29, 2013
What is the Purpose of Lent in the New York TImes' Room for Debate
My wife, Maria, along with Eve Tushnet, Rod Dreher, and a couple of others were invited by the New York Times to write about the purpose of Lenten sacrifice. Here is a taste of Maria's response:
In so many ways, the Camino is a metaphor for our whole lives: I can’t anticipate what struggles today will bring, but anything is doable one step at a time. Every uphill has a downhill. Hardship becomes manageable with a friend. Every single thing that I carry weighs me down, so I must choose wisely.
In our culture, pain, suffering, worries, difficulties and grieving are all things to conquer — and to anesthetize as quickly as possible. Each of us is an addict looking for a quick fix. Drugs. Food. Exercise. Sex. Shopping. Disposable relationships. Whatever it takes to not feel bad, sad, hurt.
Thus the question for me is not whether there’s a point to giving things up during Lent, but whether I should ever stop fasting from all that numbs, dulls and deadens me to life, all of life, as it is today — the good and the bad. Fasting makes me willing to try.
Friday, March 22, 2013
The sole aim of our life: to be love
Some, including the New York Times, want to perpetuate left/right divisions in the Church. Recovering Lawyer, Heather King has a profound response on her Shirt of Flame blog. Her is a taste:
To kiss the feet of AIDS patients and drug addicts, as Pope Francis has done,
comes from an entire being that has been formed, has been disciplined, and has
as its sole aim love. You don't have charity in one area and not in another. You
don't offer up one part of yourself and keep another. You offer it all. You lay
down your life.
Broken, stumbling, poor as we are--that's what we do best.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Mercy!
Reflecting on yesterday's Gospel - the woman caught in adultery, - Pope Francis spoke of God's abundant mercy, which seems to be an emerging theme of his pontificate.
...Brothers and sisters, the face of God is that of a merciful father, an ever-patient one. Have you thought of God's patience, the patience that he has for each of us? That's his mercy. He's always patient, patient with us; he understands us, approaches us, he never tires of forgiving us if we know to turn to him with a contrite heart. "Great is the mercy of God," says the Psalmist. ...
the problem is that we get tired, we don't want to, we get tired of asking forgiveness. He never gets tired of forgiving, but we at times, we get tired of asking forgiveness. May we never tire, let us never tire of it! He's the loving Father who always forgives, who has a heart of mercy for all of us. And even we can learn to be merciful with others. Let us ask the intercession of Our Lady, who held in her arms the Mercy of God made man...
PHOTO: L'Osservatore Romano
Saturday, March 16, 2013
The influence of Msgr. Luigi Guissani on Pope Francis
Only someone who has encountered mercy, who has been caressed by the tenderness of mercy, is happy and comfortable with the Lord. I beg the theologians who are present not to turn me in to the Sant'Uffizio or to the Inquisition; however, forcing things a bit, I dare to say that the privileged locus of the encounter is the caress of the mercy of Jesus Christ on my sin.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, SJ (now Pope Francis). In this book chapter and this book review, Cardinal Bergoglio discusses the influence of Communion and Liberation Founder, Msgr. Luigi Guissani, on his priesthood and his personhood.
Why the Pope chose Francis: In His Own Words
Friday, March 15, 2013
A Jesuit Pope called to "Go and Repair My House"
Two articles on Pope Francis that might be of interest to our readers.
The President of Loyola Chicago writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education on "A Pope in the Jesuit Tradition," asking but not answering what the election of a Jesuit pope holds on store for "those of us who are Catholic educators and for our institutions."
In, "Go and Repair My House" (Wall Street Journal), Peggy Noonan sees in Pope Francis a man who "loves the poor and not in an abstract way. He gave the cardinal's palace in Buenos Aires to a missionary order with no money. He lives in an apartment, cooks his food, rides the bus. He rejects pomposity. He does not feel superior. He is a fellow soul. ... The church's grandeur is beautiful, but Francis seems to be saying he himself won't be grand" as he attends to the task of repairing God's house.
Friday, March 8, 2013
"Foreign Law, Religious Law, and the American Legal System"
FYI, Eugene Volokh will be speaking on the above referenced topic today at noon at the Univesity of Oklahoma College of Law.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
"Christians May Dance No Longer: The Global Crisis in Religious Freedom."
If you are in the Norman area tonight, I invite you to a 7pm lecture in the Bell Courtroom at the College of Law. Dr. Thomas F. Farr, the Director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, will deliver his lecture titled "Christians May Dance No Longer: The Global Crisis in Religious Freedom."
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