SPIRITED THINKING SINCE 1888
December 12, 2019
Divided? Yes. But there’s plenty of kindness and optimism in the UK
December 12, 2019
During the general election campaign, an American journalist from the New York Times paid an extensive visit to Britain, and reported back that he found a deeply divided United Kingdom. Many observations have been made along similar lines – it’s a theme with which we are familiar. But let me look on a brighter side:
‘A necessity, not a victory’: Buffalo reacts to bishop’s resignation
December 12, 2019
Catholics in Buffalo reacted with relief last week, when news broke that the embattled bishop of the troubled diocese in western New York had thrown in the towel after more than 18 months of unremitting and increasingly intense critical attention to his record. Whistleblower Siobhan O’Connor told the Catholic Herald: “My immediate reaction was one of
Justice and charity – revisited
December 12, 2019
We’re all familiar, I suspect, with the difference between justice and charity. Charity is giving away some of your time, energy, resources and person so as to help others in need. And that’s an admirable virtue, the sign of a good heart. Justice, on the other hand, is less about directly giving something away than
The nation saying yes to babies
December 12, 2019
One of the most striking policies of the government of Hungary, under its controversial prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is that it encourages couples who want to have children, to have them. At a time when young woke people make principled decisions not to reproduce lest they damage the environment (see Prince Harry and Meghan), Hungary’s
Heretic of the week: Reinhold Niebuhr
December 12, 2019
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) was born in Missouri to an immigrant German couple. His father was a minister in the State Church of Prussia, itself a shotgun marriage between Lutheran and Reformed denominations in that country (in Reinhold’s lifetime, it would merge first with the German Reformed Church in the United States, and finally the Congregationalists,
Prize crossword 0623
December 12, 2019
Cryptic across 1 Classical hero, dubious bell-hop, Nero sacked (11) 8 Moral tale of freight train wreck this morning’s adults only (4,9) 10 State of Brazil at the outset of poor investments and union intrigues (5) 11 Rugby commercial appearing during American brother’s sort of reggae music (3-1-3) 12 Permit to get on board frenetic
Mass readings
December 12, 2019
Ordinary Form Divine Office Week III Sunday, December 15: The Third Sunday of Advent Is 35:1-6A, 10; Ps 146; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 Monday, December 16: Weekday of Advent Nm 24:2-7, 15-17A; Ps 25; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Mt 21:23-27 Tuesday, December 17: Weekday of Advent Gn 49:2, 8-10; Ps 72; Mt 1:1-17 Wednesday, December 18: Weekday of
How to… Join a Confraternity of the Cord
December 12, 2019
Confraternities of the Cord are ancient associations of Catholics who wear cords, cinctures or belts in devotion to a saint whom they wish to honour and emulate. The oldest and most celebrated of them is the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, but there are also the Archconfraternity of the Cord of St Francis, the
Advent is a time to look forward and not backwards
December 12, 2019
Advent is when the Christian recognises that history is not “just one thing after the other”, as Henry Ford opined, but turns on an axis between two polarities – the coming of Christ once in human history, and the return of the crucified and risen Christ in glory as the fulfilment of that history and
Gaudete Sunday is a glimpse of the joy that lies ahead
December 12, 2019
The Third Sunday of Advent is nicknamed “Gaudete Sunday” from the first word of the entrance chant, or Introit: Rejoice! Today we relax slightly our penitential focus during Advent. Advent is joyous, but also penitential. Remember: we fast before our feasts.    At the beginning of Advent we begged God for the grace of a
Repentance is the best preparation for Christmas
December 12, 2019
The Third Sunday of Advent Is 35:1-6; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 (Year A) The prophet Isaiah lived through the darkest of times in Israel’s history, and yet his was the voice that never ceased to summon a broken people to joy. “They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces; joy
Why is Western civilisation falling apart?
December 12, 2019
How the West Was Lost By Ben Ryan Hurst & Company, 192pp, £20/$19.50 The decline of Western civilisation has been a persistent topic of discussion and rumination ever since the First World War. It was this global upheaval which proved such a profound shock to Europe and America’s collective mindset, shattering the peaceful and prosperous
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