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March 21, 2019

The tiny college that shows how to save US higher education

March 21, 2019

America’s radiating college-cheating scandal – wealthy parents allegedly bribed athletic coaches to admit their unathletic kids to elite institutions – is best understood as a symptom of a civilisation that no longer believes in the possibility of truth. We in the West have oodles of facts, things we can learn with our senses and measure

Dear Fr Rutler: Is it sacrilege to let children ‘play Mass’?

March 21, 2019

Dear Father Rutler, My sister is a very pious, traditional Catholic. However, she refuses to break her fast on Sunday and major saints’ days during Lent. Are we obligated to feast? Dana B from Hartford, CT It is not easy to live with someone who is saintly. Especially one who knows it. I give your sister

California’s moratorium on executions is not all it seems

March 21, 2019

When California Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) issued a moratorium on executions last week, the state’s bishops voiced their approval. “We appreciate this recognition that the state has the adequate means to defend human dignity and public safety without recourse to capital punishment,” said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in a statement on behalf of the California bishops.

How to celebrate without getting a hangover

March 21, 2019

We don’t know how to celebrate things as they’re meant to be celebrated. We want to, but mostly we don’t know how. Generally we celebrate badly. How do we normally celebrate? By overdoing things; by taking a lot of the things we ordinarily do – drinking, eating, talking, singing and humour – and bringing them

The fine line between fasting and dieting

March 21, 2019

If you are one of those radio listeners who find the BBC’s Today programme boring, there is always Nick Ferrari’s LBC phone-in show in the morning. It is raw, abrasive at times, but addictive. “Get it off your chest and on the radio,” says Ferrari, a former tabloid journalist. So confident is he that people

Heretic of the week: Ignaz von Döllinger

March 21, 2019

Ignaz von Döllinger (1799-1890) was one of the 19th century’s best-known Catholic historians – at least for the first part of his career. Born in Bamberg, Bavaria, to a highly intellectual family, he was drawn to the study of philosophy and history. This was in the immediate post-revolutionary era in Europe, when great minds such

Prize crossword 0585

March 21, 2019

Cryptic across 5 African country where a carp repelled an intrusive horse (5) 6 Descendant of Ephraim’s incitement to wavering Liverpool fan (5) 8 Babylon leader’s desideratum he condemned (6,3,4) 9 Various sheep Uncle Sam sent to Diana’s shrine (7) 10 Pagan priest is an odd fake, receiving religious instruction throughout (5) 12 Poet, a

Mass readings

March 21, 2019

Ordinary Form Divine Office Week III Sunday, March 24: Third Sunday of Lent Ex 3:1-8A, 13-15; Ps 103; 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12; Lk 13:1-9 Monday, March 25: The Annunciation of the Lord Is 7:10-14; 8:10; Ps 40; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38 Tuesday, March 26: Weekday of Lent Dn 3:25, 34-43; Ps 25; Mt 18:21-35 Wednesday,

How to … Say the Angelus

March 21, 2019

In his description of “a short way to perfection” – the simple everyday ways to advance in holiness – Blessed John Henry Newman mentions: “Say the Angelus devoutly.” If you don’t already, this is an excellent week to start: on Monday, we mark the feast of the Annunciation, the event from which the Angelus derives.

An elegy for a Jesuit college

March 21, 2019

What cherry trees are to Washington, DC, magnolia trees were to my last parish in London. The profligacy of their flowers lighting up the suburban streets like vast candelabra made spring the most beautiful and colourful time of year. For a few short weeks the urban landscape was transformed. In A Shropshire Lad, AE Housman

Keep Fridays meat-free – but alligator is fine

March 21, 2019

Last week I concluded with the Latin adage, plenus venter non studet libenter (“A full stomach doesn’t willingly apply itself to study”). Remaining a little hungry – both physically and morally – is beneficial. Constant satiation of bodily and other undertakings brings torpor and weakness in the face of more dire temptations. Lent is a

A blunt challenge from St Paul

March 21, 2019

Third Sunday of Lent Ex 3:1-8 & 13-15; 1 Cor 10:1-6 & 10-12; Lk 13:1-9 (Year C) On this third Sunday of Lent the encounter of Moses with his Lord at the burning bush is the background for Lenten prayer and reflection. It demands that we consider a question that is frequently pushed to the