The Healing Love of Lourdes
One hundred-fifty years ago Our Lady visited Lourdes, France, a place that looms large in the Catholic imagination. Long before Poland Springs became popular, Catholics had their own brand of bottled water. It was well known that if you were sick, Mrs. Murphy or Mrs. Gimminiani or any number of women in the neighborhood would have a bottle of Lourdes water for you. We knew also that the word “grotto” was exclusively associated with Lourdes. Once after watching the movie, The Song of Bernadette, my father remarked that Jennifer Jones, … READ MORE >
Science/Tech
Sunny Anand and the Hidden Pain of the Unborn
Annie Murphy Paul’s “The First Ache,” which appeared in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, is the perfect companion piece to Austen Ivereigh’s “A Question of Empathy.” Both articles show how science is changing the terms of the abortion debate by “personifying” the unborn. In Paul’s fascinating article, she zeros in on the question: When does a human being begin to feel pain in the womb? I was shocked to learn from the article that until recently doctors believed that infants couldn’t feel pain because their … READ MORE >
Spirituality
The Joy of Nada—Doing Nothing for Lent
Pascal said “the sole cause of man’s unhappiness” is that he doesn’t know “how to stay quietly in his room.” That suggests something you can do for Lent—nothing. It’s not too late. If you’ve forgotten how, “All Nothing, All the Time,” a travel article in today’s New York Times, can help. “Aggressive inactivity,” says the article’s author, is an ”art form… that deserves a guide every bit as detailed as a Fodor’s or Bradt.” He’s right about that (see the links within this post). The article, though, seems to … READ MORE >
Life
Get Married! The Case for Tying the Knot Early
I enjoyed reading Lori Gottlieb’s funny and insightful “Marry Him! The case for settling for Mr. Good Enough, in the March issue of The Atlantic. At 40 years of age, Ms. Gottlieb finds herself an attractive, intelligent, successful woman whose marriage prospects are plummeting like a skydiver without a parachute. She made the seemingly brave choice to have a child by a sperm-donor, thinking she would find her soul mate afterwards, only to find that she now wants her son to have a great dad, which has multiplied Ms. Gottlieb’s own … READ MORE >
Life
An Easter Homecoming for Jimmy
Easter marks the dawning of a new and eternal day. The Church commemorates the Resurrection day of Christ as an octave; eight days of rejoicing as if it were a single day. The preface for the Eucharistic prayer in these days speaks in the present tense “on this Easter day”. The Beatles sang of needing love eight days a week and of a longing for a space in which love could overflow even beyond eight days. God’s superabundant Love is manifested in this the highest of octaves. Throughout Christendom baptismal fonts, the womb of the … READ MORE >
Issues
Driving a Wedge into the ‘Evangelical Center’ on Gay Marriage
Why is it taboo within the cultural left to “privilege” marriage in any way? Several years ago I came across a snarky little news item in New York Magazine titled: “The Smug Marrieds Head Underground: Pro-marriage propaganda to invade subway.” What sort of propaganda was this? They were subway billboards produced by an abstinence advocacy group called Campaign for Our Children. The ads featured happy-faced couples and headlines like “‘Marriage works.” “Married people earn more money.” “Kids of married parents do better … READ MORE >
Faith
Beyond Benedict, ‘the American Pope’
Time Magazine’s recent cover story about Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit had two headlines: “Why The Pope Loves America,” and “The American Pope.’ Neither title was accurate. It’s hard to imagine the soft-spoken, intellectual, Mozart-loving pontiff as somehow quintessentially American. But is it true that he loves America? Sure, but in the unconditional, fatherly sense—not, as the authors of the Time magazine story claim, because “he sees us as the world’s best example” of a faith-based society. The story pieces together … READ MORE >
Faith
America: Encounter the Pope
The Pope is coming to America. I’ll be with the crowds in D.C. and New York this week, live-blogging my experience of the pope’s visit, and the experiences of the pilgrims and bystanders around me. Secular media coverage has positioned America front-and-center of the trip. I’d like to do the reverse. In my mind, the pope isn’t just coming to America; this is a chance for Americans to come to Benedict XVI-to engage him, encounter his message, listen, absorb, pray, reflect. The pope arrives in Washington DC later today and leaves from New … READ MORE >
Faith
Meeting the War Wearied with Christ
“eternally scourged…” Plate 3 Miserere et Guerre—Georges Rouault (1871-1958) One day last week I stood in front of St. Stephen Martyr Church in D.C. with a young religious sister and the pastor of the parish. The scene would have made for a typical beginning to a joke, “A priest, a nun, and a friar, were…” We were talking, laughing, and enjoying the sun; a diocesan priest in black, a Franciscan sister in brown and a Dominican in white. A young lady with olive skin, black hair, and black eyes approached us. Her accented voice … READ MORE >
Science/Tech
Emancipate the Embryo! Britain set to enter ‘brave new world’
British Members of Parliament must decide this month on a vast range of ethical issues contained in the Labour Government’s most far-reaching shake-up of fertility and embryology legislation in almost 20 years. The awesomely complex ethical issues raised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill will be hotly contested when its body parts are voted on at the end of this month. On Monday, the bill passed successfully through the Commons after three hours of heated – but also thoughtful – discussion, but many of the MPs … READ MORE >
Issues
They’ll Believe in Anything: Study says atheists are more irrational
A new Gallup study, “What Americans Really Believe,” suggests that if anti-religious crusaders Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins want a more rational, less superstitious world, they should encourage people to go to church. A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that, according to the study… “…traditional Christian religion greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of astrology. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, … READ MORE >
Issues
The Right’s Hypocritical Crusade against Wall Street
I almost never agree with First Things on economic policy, but Robert T. Miller was right last week when he warned that “those on the political right need to make sure that the Republicans in Congress do not through ignorance or stupidity misunderstand conservative economic principles and so lead us into economic disaster.” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Republicans in the House did today when they tanked the President’s $700 billion financial bail-out bill and sent the stock market plunging to its biggest one day loss ever. … READ MORE >
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