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For anyone who had paid attention to his writing and ministry with people with intellectual disabilities, the recent revelations that well-respected philosopher and founder of the L’Arche movement Jean Vanier had used his position to manipulate and abuse women who went to him for spiritual direction is heart-piercing. I, for one, felt an immediate guilt. I had written about him, even encouraged that he be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And I was not alone. People called him a living saint and one of the great lay Catholics of the 20th century.  It’s clear now that we weren’t seeing the whole picture. It’s a devastating news story for so many who lived with him and followed him, who were inspired by him. There’s a point after taking in so much of this kind of scandal and betrayal, that...

How can we end the world’s coronavirus outbreak? These two saints might be the answer. Two saints miraculously cured plagues: St. Roch and St. Rosalie. Below are their incredible stories, as well as prayers invoking their powerful intercession. St. Roch Born of a noble family, tradition says St. Roch was miraculously born with a red cross on his breast. St. Roch gave all of his fortune to the poor at age 20 after his parents died. In 1315, he assisted plague victims in several Italian cities, miraculously curing people with the sign of the cross. While helping the sick, he also contracted the disease. However, the saint survived after a dog helped him in the forest. The dog brought him food and licked his wounds. He was later mistaken for a spy and spent the rest of his life in prison. Acc...

With the news that the coronavirus is spreading, it’s only a matter of time before people start to think—wait, do I have the coronavirus? At this point it’s still extremely rare, and your cough is far more likely to be a cold or flu. Still, here’s what you should do. Check if your symptoms actually match While the coronavirus is a respiratory disease similar to a cold or flu, there’s a notable symptom that’s missing in nearly all cases: a runny nose. Advertisement If you’re sniffling and sneezing up a storm, it’s very unlikely you caught COVID-19. As the World Health Organization points out, so far 90% of patients had a fever and 70% had a dry cough; these are the typical symptoms. Even if you have a fever and a cough, please don’t panic. Colds and flu circulate year round and increase eve...

The great English Dominican friar, Bede Jarrett, once gave a series of Lenten conferences based on the theme “Here we have no abiding city” (Hebrews 13:14). Jarrett explained, “If you are traveling, the whole secret of a happy journey is to remember always that you are a traveler.” The temptation, of course, is to try to settle down in this life, to pretend like the here-and-now is all that there is or will be.  But there’s no permanent rest to be had in this life. We are called to further our progress, to pursue Christ above all. And yet, the temptations remain: to linger, to dally, to be stagnant. Among the many pernicious temptations which haunt the darkened corridors of our souls, three are, at the present time, especially nefarious. The first is the perennial temptation to doubt ...

A brief observation of the first two days in Lent reveals militaristic, even violent imagery in the battle against sin and the unruly passions of the flesh. The Collect (opening prayer) of Ash Wednesday provides an image of troops mustering for battle: Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. “Battle,” “weapons,” and “armed” all clearly have military connotations, but so does the phrase “campaign of Christian service” if we look at the Latin text: praesidia miltiae Christianae. The service or action (prae...

The good folks here at Magis Center were gracious enough to suggest that I become a more regular contributor, so I’m looking forward to exploring some exciting topics in the coming months. And, in the spirit of a preliminary entry, I’d like to address the following, because I hope it will set a positive tone in the discussion going forward.   Over the years, in discussions with atheists and agnostics, I have been frequently accused of seeing everything in a way that supports my position that God exists. Since I want God to exist—the argument goes—I consistently dismiss any reason, logic, or scientific evidence that might contradict my belief. Initially, I took this personally, but over the years, I came to realize that this was a fairly common accusation—and one that makes it int...

For many years I was certain Jean Vanier was a saint.  I could not fathom how anyone could have believed otherwise. His life’s work with L’Arche International, which he founded in 1964, was so extraordinary, so self-giving, that I asked, “If this man is not a saint then who is?”  Then on Feb. 22, the news broke.  “Vanier, a devout Catholic, had ‘manipulative and emotionally abusive’ sexual relationships with six women in France, between 1970 and 2005, according to a statement by L’Arche International,” the BBC reported. “Sexual relations were instigated by Vanier, usually in the context of giving spiritual guidance.” This revelation was the result of L’Arche International’s request for a review by an independent body. Those who did the report for L’Arche had no axe to g...

When President Trump ticks off his accomplishments since taking office, he frequently mentions his aggressive makeover of a key sector of the federal judiciary — the circuit courts of appeal, where he has appointed 51 judges to lifetime jobs in three years. In few places has the effect been felt more powerfully than in the sprawling 9th Circuit, which covers California and eight other states. Because of Trump’s success in filling vacancies, the San Francisco-based circuit, long dominated by Democratic appointees, has suddenly shifted to the right, with an even more pronounced tilt expected in the years ahead. Trump has now named 10 judges to the 9th Circuit — more than one-third of its active judges — compared with seven appointed by President Obama over eight years. “Trump has effectively...

Most of the saints have written about the central battle of our life: desire. What we desire is crucial because in the end, we get what we want. Either we die wanting what God offers, or we die not wanting it. Either we love what and whom God loves, or we don’t. We tend to think that everyone wants to go to Heaven, but that isn’t true. Heaven is not one’s personally designed paradise; it is the Kingdom of God with all of its values: forgiveness, chastity, love of all (including our enemies), and generosity, among many others. In addition, God is at the center, not us. Many people don’t desire some or all the values of the Kingdom of God and thus die in a state of indifference or opposition to what God is offering. For example, some do not want to love their enemies or live chastely. God wi...

Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow said that he would rather be known for saving babies than winning Super Bowls during an anti-abortion event. “It really does mean a lot more than winning the Super Bowl,” he said to a crowd at a football-themed banquet hosted by Kansans for Life earlier this month. “One day, when you look back and people are talking about you and they say, ‘Oh my gosh, what are you going to be known for?’ Are you going to say Super Bowl, or we saved a lot of babies?” At one point in the speech, Tebow turned to people affiliated with the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs football team who were in the audience and addressed their recent feat. “It’s amazing,” Tebow said. “What an accomplishment! But you know the best part of that accomplishmen...

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...

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, “...