Tuesday, September 8, 20200171The Swiss theologian Karl Barth is the author of a line that has always fascinated me: in the realm of nature, “Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God” that we possess. I would like to explain why I think he is absolutely correct.
Friday, August 7, 20200403I just read a fantastic book about faith and science: Christopher Baglow, Faith, Science and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge. I highly recommend it to every teacher and catechist, or to anyone interested in the topic.
Friday, July 17, 20200205Contemporary readers of St. Paul criticize him for his apparent tolerance of slavery (see Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:22-25; Titus 2:9-10). Given the specter of slavery and racism in our nation’s past (and, alas, the present), we wish that Paul would have spoken more forcefully, from our vantage point, against the institution. Yet we...
Friday, May 29, 20200366The modern Greek word for “Thank you,” eucharisto, immediately calls to our Christian minds the gift of Christ’s body and blood, commemorated in our Eucharistic liturgy. The proper response to eucharisto today might not be as recognizable, but it is equally rich in theological meaning. The word parakalo, which functions as...
Wednesday, April 22, 20200273Luke begins his account of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah with a rather curious phrase: “Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’” (Luke 9:18). Those who already know the answer might gloss over the sheer oddity of the opening...
Sunday, April 19, 20200196As we move further into this global program of “social distancing” because of COVID-19, millions around the world are trying to figure out what to do with all the time they must now spend in isolation at home.
Friday, April 10, 20200262Father Thomas Esposito
Special to The Texas Catholic
When I read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry, I often pause to ask myself: would I have been brave enough to accept his invitation to discipleship if I heard him with my own ears? Had I been a believing Jew following his ministry, could I have embraced his vision of my...
Tuesday, April 7, 20200205The coronavirus is creating a big challenge for teachers and students around the world. My heart goes out to the students, who, if they are among the lucky ones, are sitting at home with online schoolwork, but without the ability to spend time with their classmates in person, play sports, enjoy clubs, and do other fun things. My heart...
Friday, March 27, 20200276The word “quarantine” as we use it today was first coined in 14th century Venice – the leaders of that most serene watery republic ordered a mandatory period of isolation for people arriving in ships during the Black Death outbreak. A sequence of 40 days — una quarantina in modern Italian — was sufficient, they deemed, to...
Saturday, March 21, 20200381We’re a few weeks into Lent, and since we’ve had some time now to try our Lenten disciplines of praying, fasting and almsgiving, let’s take a moment to reevaluate them in light of some ancient wisdom. Here are three tips about fasting from the Rule of St. Benedict.
