When you’re walking by and see this: … you can’t just look away and pretend nothing happened. It might be the vibrant red that hits you in the face or the bold letters or the… I’m not sure… But one thing is certain: screaming the word “porn”, in a public space, is the opposite of…
Pragmatism, AA, and an Unlikely Helper
Br Joseph Ory “Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy.” (Gaudete in Domino I) Chilling words, not because the Church said it, but because you and I have experienced it. We are part of that technological culture, but Gaudete in Domino does not stop…
Conflict Resolution & Social Media
Br Joseph Ory, LC What I learned as a kid from my mom: if you get in a fight with your brother or sister, you should both say you’re sorry, listen to the other, shake hands, and try to be more respectful next time. Now think about social media: if you have some friction with…
Blind Love
.Br Patrick O’Loughlin, LC Black Mist Night Breath Word Light. Sweat Sword Dusk Sea Dawn Staff Waves Free. Born Blind Wash Sight Save Me. Unbidden those words came to mind as I hunched on my cane: God’s great deeds for mankind hailed from the light. Creation, salvation from Egypt – they happened at…
Death and the Númenóreans: Is This Life All There Is?
In Tolkien’s world of Arda, elves are the elder children of Ilúvatar, also known as the One. Elves receive the gift of immortality and their spirits will remain with the world until its end. But Ilúvatar’s younger children, men, are destined to be mortal. We see them, especially the men of Númenor, in desperate struggle…
Many to One
I guess this is a common spiritual experience for many of us: we already know that only one thing, One Person, matters, but then we have to actually live it… Head to heart. I believe, but my belief Is sown in little faiths: Little pagan rituals, A little pagan space. Each idol claims my all…
Angels among Us…
by Ryan Carlin, LC Ed Sheeran’s song “A Team” tells the story of a young lady who has gotten caught in a drug addiction which has subsequently driven her onto the streets. She spends her day begging and when this is not enough to meet her needs she ends up selling herself to bring…
Is Our Culture Hopeless?
One of the most common phrases I hear is “today’s culture is falling apart.” With economic crises, countries with problematic governments, hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their countries in the Middle East, and countless moral issues, we often ask ourselves, “Where is society going? Can we do anything?” From 1789 till 1799, which wasn’t so long…
The Sacred Heart for Me
This image above is a few of the ideas that I came up with for what the Sacred Heart means to me. The following is the explanation that I would give… (sorry if it isn’t really connected together very well) One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came…
Does this World Need God?
There is a beautiful tradition in Italy in which a priest visits every household in his parish. They call it la benedizione (Italian for blessing). They pray a little prayer together and the priest blesses the family. It’s a simple thing, but it gives a vestige of the catholic country that Italy used to be….
I Do Pity Him: Finding the Crux of “The Lord of the Rings”
This article was originally published in In-Formarse, May 2016. It goes along well with the Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy! At the center of a good story lies a key action that defines the whole work and that depends on a specific value and worldview. Like an onion, it has many layers that have to be…
Humanity with God Against Evil
“Thus I will rend with my teeth and nails the eternal pain that stings my heart.” With these stirring words, Gaetano Cellini engraves his powerful sculpture Humanity Against Evil. Here we see all humanity represented in one man hunched over, exhausted as he wrestles with a mass of marble representing evil. Each man and woman…