Jul
20
Blossoming Blossers
July 20, 2005 | Leave a Comment
Just a quickie to promote another blog. If you like profound thought, careful argument, theological insight, and philosophical clarity, you couldn’t do much better than reading Ad Limina Apostolorum.
Jul
20
Over One Billion Served
July 20, 2005 | Leave a Comment
A recent report from the Catholic News Service draws attention to the fact that, whereas the number of Roman Catholics in the United States continues to grow, the number of baptisms, weddings, and first Communions is shrinking. Further evidence, if more were needed, that there are more people calling themselves “Catholic” than really are such, [...]
Jul
20
Ut Unum Sint
July 20, 2005 | Leave a Comment
Yes, I know, that’s a terribly pretentious title for a blog installment, but as a title for a papal encyclical it can’t be beat, and it’s in that capacity that I’m borrowing it for this little nuga. It’s certainly better than “…and One For All!”, the title that I was going to use but which [...]
Jul
15
Bye Bye Bear
July 15, 2005 | Leave a Comment
For its fans, Golf is a singular sport, and Jack Nicklaus is a singular golfer. I was never all that interested in golf–or indeed any sport–when I was growing up, but recently I began to follow the game rather closely. It all began in January of 1998 when I was stuck at home during a [...]
Jul
13
When In Rome
July 13, 2005 | Leave a Comment
In thinking about the Present State of Affairs I’m sometimes reminded of the situation at the end of the Roman Republic, when Rome was beginning to establish itself as a powerful force in the Mediterranean but was grappling with unpleasant pirates harrassing sea trade and local communities ashore. Like the Roman Republic, we’re pretty difficult [...]
Jul
12
The Positivity of Negativity
July 12, 2005 | Leave a Comment
An article at Catholic News Service today informs us that Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton, England, is worried that some Anglican clergy are going to bail out of the C of E and swim the Tiber now that the Church of England has removed obstacles to the consecration of women as bishops. Bishop Lang’s worry [...]
Jul
11
Harvard on the Hocking
July 11, 2005 | Leave a Comment
When I went on the job market I was fortunate to get, for reasons that are still mysterious to me, several different job offers from which to choose. During my on-campus interview at Ohio University, while the chair of the search committee was showing me around the joint, I asked about the comptetitveness of OU, [...]
Jul
10
Quick! Before They Wake Up!
July 10, 2005 | Leave a Comment
Do you find it difficult to “accept new prayers” at Mass? I find that the number of optional variants permitted under the new rubrics is so vast that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to tell when a particular prayer is really “new” and when it is just something that I’ve never heard before. At any [...]
Jul
9
I’m a Monkey and a Flower
July 9, 2005 | Leave a Comment
That’s a line from a Talking Heads song, for those of you who may be worried that I’m pondering a new career as a mime. But it occurred to me when I saw a piece in the New York Times about Cardinal Shoenborn’s latest statements about evolutionary theory. It reminded me of all the muddled [...]
Jul
8
They Also Serve Who Only Keep the Faith
July 8, 2005 | Leave a Comment
I came across a story today at the Catholic News Service about a priest being turned away by emergency personel from the site of yesterday’s tragedy:
“The image of emergency services wanting priests at the scene has finished,” said Father Peter Newby of St. Mary Moorfield Parish. “They don’t want priests there.
Not because of any lack [...]
