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Batman, Ash Wednesday and the power of symbols…
2 Minute Read “People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man, I’m flesh and blood; I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol … as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.” – Bruce Wayne, Batman Begins In Batman Begins, after spending several years living the life of a criminal and training with the League of Shadows, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City. He realizes he can’t fight the criminals who control the city as himself. He must become something else. A symbol. Google says a symbol is “a thing that represents or stands for something else,” especially something abstract. Symbols are all around us. They are stamped on the things we buy, like clothing and automobiles. They fly as flags over government buil...
The confessional seal, the Pope and progressives, and more…
By Phil Lawler ( bio – articles – email ) | Feb 21, 2020 A week after its release, Querida Amazonia—or, to be more accurate, the reaction to the papal document—remains the top news story of this week. But it shouldn’t be. ►The most important story, in my view, is the law that took effect in the Australian state of Victoria, requiring priests to break the confessional seal if they are told about abuse of children. Here is a frontal assault on religious liberty, and a grave challenge for Australian priests—who have already been told by their bishops (although they shouldn’t need to be told) that they must accept jail time rather than violate the seal. How will this story play out? Will other states pass similar laws? Will priests be subject to arrest—and unable to say anything in...
On losing one’s faith without even knowing it…
There is a memorable character in the Graham Greene novel A Burnt Out Case named Rycker who is a former monk who has left to get married. He is living in mortal sin, but he thinks the dryness of his spiritual life is because he is going through “the dark night of the soul.” So deluded by his own spiritual pride he imagines that he is a great saint who is suffering for Jesus. In fact, Greene brilliantly portrays the man as almost a comic figure for his foolishness, false humility and fake bravado. It is a cautionary tale reminding one of the genuine minefield through quicksand that the spiritual life can become. There are all sorts of ways one can lose the faith, and there’s the old story about the sixteen year old schoolgirl who went to the Mother Superior at her convent school and said, “...
Sin is first in the will: a brief lesson in morality from Lady Macbeth…
Of all the authors we should compel our students to read, surely no one is so foolhardy as to demand a reason for reading Shakespeare. I can forgive the one who asks, Why should students read Aeschylus? Or Why do you force them to read Thucydides? But this is only because these authors are ancient Greeks and therefore might appear (at first glance) to be so remote, so out-dated and outmoded that perhaps devouring time has blunted their relevance. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth! Thankfully, Shakespeare still appears to be among the authors with whose works a more than passing familiarity is still deemed a sine qua non for the one who dares to think himself educated. Notice the phrase “passing familiarity.” I chose those words very ...
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: Ask God for the strength to love your enemies…
Bari, Italy, Feb 23, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- Ask God for the grace to love your enemies, Pope Francis said Sunday in a homily in the Italian city of Bari. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This is the Christian innovation. It is the Christian difference,” Pope Francis said Feb. 23. “Ask God for the strength to love. Say to Him: ‘Lord, help me to love, teach me to forgive. I cannot do it alone, I need you.’ … We need to pray more frequently for the grace to live the essence of the Gospel, to be truly Christian,” the pope said. Pope Francis offered Mass in Bari for the conclusion of the “Mediterranean, Frontier of Peace” meeting of bishops from 19 Mediterranean countries, which took place Feb. 19-23. An estimated 40,000 people attended the pope’s Sunday Mass in B...
Is coffee good for you? Yes! But it depends on the kind of coffee and the quantity…..
We’ve come a long way from the cans of Folgers that filled our grandparents’ cupboards, with our oat milk lattes, cold brews and Frappuccinos. Some of us are still very utilitarian about the drink while others perform elaborate rituals. The fourth most popular beverage in the country, coffee is steeped into our culture. Just the right amount can improve our mood; too much may make us feel anxious and jittery. Is coffee good for me? Yes. In moderation, coffee seems to be good for most people — that’s 3 to 5 cups daily, or up to 400 milligrams of caffeine. “The evidence is pretty consistent that coffee is associated with a lower risk of mortality,” said Erikka Loftfield, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute who has studied the beverage. For years, coffee was believed to be a po...
Why are most airplane seats blue?
Atstock Productions/Shutterstock It comes down to science and logistics. Unless you have a seat in first or business class, boarding and deplaning an aircraft can be stressful experiences. Because you’re so busy worrying about finding room in the overhead compartment and trying not to knock other passengers on the head with your personal item, you may not notice things like the plane’s interior color scheme. But if you pay attention the next time you board a plane, you’ll likely notice that its seats are blue. Of course, there are exceptions to this—like Virgin Atlantic’s red seats and the green seats on Aer Lingus—but in general, airline seats tend to be blue. So why is that? We spoke to some experts and looked into the science to find out. Here’s how to pick the best airplane seat for ev...
The cycle of hatred and revenge ends with me…
In today’s Gospel the Lord is teaching us, by His grace, to break the cycle of hatred and retribution. When someone harms me I may well become angry, and in my anger seek to get back at the offender. If I do that, though, then Satan has earned a second victory and brought the anger and retribution to a higher level. Most likely, the one who originally harmed me will then take exception to my retribution and try to inflict more harm on me. And so the cycle continues and escalates. Satan loves this. Break the cycle. The Lord has dispatched us onto the field to turn the game around and break this cycle of retribution and hatred. The “play” He wants us to execute is the “it ends with me” play. Don’t play on Satan’s team. To hate those who hate me, to get back at those who harm me, is to work f...
7th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Turning the other cheek…
This Sunday’s Readings include some of the best known—and hardest to practice—passages from the Gospel, including Jesus famous command to “turn the other cheek.” Biblical scholarship can only go so far in elucidating some of Jesus’ challenging commands; beyond that, we need the saints. 1. Our Readings start off showing the continuity between Jesus’ teachings and the Old Testament, quoting a section from Leviticus (19:1-2, 17-18): The LORD said to Moses,“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them:Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen,do not incur sin because of him.Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.You shall ...
Where in the world: The biggest ‘diocese’ you have never heard of…
Abbot Hugh Allan has an interesting pastorship. Saying Mass, of course, is the highlight of his visits, which include visits with local Catholics and enjoying the expansive scenery and wildlife. (Abbot Hugh Allan) K.V. Turley LONDON — The Catholic Church in the British Overseas Territories of the southern Atlantic Ocean is governed by two ecclesiastical jurisdictions: the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands and the Ecclesial Mission sui iuris of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Both of these are directly responsible to the Holy See. From the 18th century onwards this large ecclesial territory was a mission field for the French and then the Spanish. In the 19th century, Irish priests came to serve the needs of Catholics on these islands. Since 2002, however, the Catholic...
L’Arche reports multiple counts of sexual misconduct by founder Jean Vanier…
Jean Vanier, 2012. (Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0).) During the investigation, the inquiry received “credible and consistent testimonies” from six adult women without disabilities that Jean Vanier initiated sexual behaviors with them often “in the context of spiritual accompaniment” over the period of more than 30 years from 1970 to 2005. Courtney Mares/CNA. PARIS, France — L’Arche International published the results Saturday of an independent investigation detailing sexual misconduct by its founder Jean Vanier with six women without disabilities in the context of spiritual direction. “We are shocked by these discoveries and unreservedly condemn these actions, which are in total contradiction with the values Jean Vanier claimed and are incompatible with the basic rules of respect and inte...
Are your kids difficult in Mass? What every Catholic parent of young children needs to hear…..
@shannon_last, Twitter / Nheyob, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA / ChurchPOP I wish every parish did this! Parents commonly struggle with loud, wiggly children in Mass. But how should parishes respond? Many parents become discouraged due to the lack of support, stares, and the general challenge of managing a child in Mass. But let’s aim to put parents’ minds and hearts at ease! The flyer below recently circulated Twitter. It supports parents’ tireless efforts in bringing children to church. While this Twitter user saw the letter in an Anglican church, the same message can also apply to Catholic Mass-goers. Along with a photo of the letter, Catholic twitter user Shannon Last wrote, “At a nearby church for our kids’ winter concert and saw and love this! Something for Twitter priests to consider?...
