SPIRITED THINKING SINCE 1888
May 16, 2019
May 17th 2019
May 16, 2019
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In an iconoclastic age, Memorial Day survives
May 16, 2019
This year, Memorial Day falls on May 27. In my far-off childhood, it was fixed on May 30. But like so many other civil holidays, in 1971 it was transferred to the nearest Monday before that date. Nevertheless, despite that switch it retains much of the lustre it had when I was young. In cemeteries
The bishops’ challenge in Baltimore
May 16, 2019
Last November, following the Pennsylvania grand jury allegations of episcopal cover-up in clerical abuse cases, the US bishops met in Baltimore hoping to pass a tougher code of conduct that would involve the lay faithful in episcopal accountability. Before they could begin, Cardinal DiNardo had to announce to his brothers that the Holy See did
Is pro-choice activism taking an aggressive new turn?
May 16, 2019
Pro-choice activists have long argued that prayer vigils outside abortion clinics constitute a form of “harassment” towards women who come to terminate their pregnancies. There has been scant evidence of violent or malicious behaviour on the part of pro-lifers. Now, however, we have proof of at least one aggressive demonstration outside a clinic; only the
Language, symbols and self-understanding
May 16, 2019
A reporter once asked two men at the construction site where a church was being built what each did for a living. The first man replied: “I’m a bricklayer.” The second said: “I’m building a cathedral!” How we name an experience largely determines its meaning. Thirty years ago, the American educator Allan Bloom wrote a
What our prisons say about us
May 16, 2019
Winston Churchill said that “the mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country”. I was put in mind of this when the annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in west
Prize crossword 0593
May 16, 2019
Cryptic across 5 Place in honour of Herod’s dad non-PC participants find revolting… (10) 7 …and others find limited, as expressed in Rome (2,2) 8 There’s a particular acidity in Isaac’s new High Priest (8) 9 Stock names include Liam, essentially a county type (7) 10 Fiery saint owes much to Anselmo’s inclusion of him
Heretic of the week: Jan Hus
May 16, 2019
Bohemian-Czech native Jan Hus (1369-1415) is widely considered a forerunner of the Protestant revolt. In 1393 he received his BA from the University of Prague and was ordained seven years later. At the time, the Church was in the grip of the Great Western Schism, with two and eventually three Pontiffs competing for the allegiance
How to… mark the Month of Mary
May 16, 2019
May is the month of Our Lady, and it is nearly impossible to visit a church, especially for Mass, and remain oblivious to the outpouring of devotion to Mary during this time. Nearly all Sunday Masses will at least conclude with a hymn in her honour. Marian veneration is so popular that a revival of
The March for Life was inspiring and energising
May 16, 2019
The perfect is the enemy of the good, it is said. So in a perfect world there would be many multiples of the 5,000 people who turned out for the March for Life in London last weekend; every parish would send coachloads of delegates; but it would be wrong to imply that the March did
Why I warn people before I bless cars
May 16, 2019
The Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter was not in a previous edition of the Roman Missal. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, semper in nobis paschale perfice sacramentum ut, quos sacro baptismate dignatus es renovare, sub tuae protectionis auxilio multos fructus afferant, et ad aeternae vitae gaudia pervenire concedas. Current ICEL translation (2011): “Almighty ever-living God,
Like the early Christians, we know both joy and suffering
May 16, 2019
Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 14:21-27; Rev 21:1-5; Jn 13:31-35 (Year C) “Paul and Barnabas, on their arrival at Antioch, assembled the Church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.” These words come at the conclusion of the
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