Ratzinger on the Intersection of Belief and Unbelief
No one can lay God and the Kingdom on the table before another man; even the believer cannot do it for himself. But however strongly unbelief may feel itself thereby justified it cannot forget the eerie feeling induced by the words “Yet perhaps it is true.” That perhaps is the unavoidable temptation which it cannot elude, the temptation in which it, too, in the very act of rejection, has to experience the unrejectability of belief. In other words, both the believer and the unbeliever share, each in his own way, doubt and belief, if they do not hide away from themselves and the...
Read MoreOur Religious Rorschach Test
In our house, at the bottom of our main staircase, is a large picture of the Sacred Heart. It was a gift from a member of our parish who is in the regular habit of giving away such pictures (complete with the large, unwieldy frame), presumably even to strangers (since he gave us ours at our first meeting, in the middle of a crowded farmer’s market). The picture has elicited a wide range of reactions, from bemusement to mild horror to my mother’s comment that “your grandmother would be proud.” When we first got the picture I thought that I would hang it in my office; at...
Read MoreLeadership vs. Authority
Living in Illinois the past month has given me reason to reflect on the nature of leadership. I’m sure everyone who isn’t living under a rock has heard about the recent… troubles of our governor. Even now the wheels are turning to force him from office and convict him of criminal wrong-doing. People are saying that he is no longer fit to lead, that no one will now follow his leadership, the state is looking for new leadership. We also hear about leadership within the Church. Sometimes its criticism of the bishops’ leadership or that a new pastor has been brought in the...
Read MoreFr. Richard John Neuhaus, resquiat in pace
Fr. Richard John Neuhaus passed into eternal life this morning, reminding us once again that death is the fate of all men: We are born to die. Not that death is the purpose of our being born, but we are born toward death, and in each of our lives the work of dying is already underway. The work of dying well is, in largest part, the work of living well. Resquiat in pace.
Read MoreAbortion and the Art of Making Distinctions
One of my “dirty little secrets” is that, when I lived in St. Louis, I enjoyed listening to the Lutheran (LCMS) radio station in town — particularly the show Issues, Etc. (which has since moved to another station in town for reasons that have been well-chronicled elsewhere). While I didn’t always agree with the show I appreciated their clarity of thought and courage in addressing current events from a Christian perspective. I also came to appreciate the Lutheran definition of theology as “the art of making distinctions.” This is an art that is, sadly,...
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