The Narthex

My vegetable garden is a 4 x 10 planter box with gopher-proof screening and a weed-banning cloth. Its soil is enriched with root enzymes and minerals, wriggly worms, and rich humus. I nearly broke my back constructing it, but it was worth the anguish. I’ve got international participation from healthy,…

My dad used to say whenever motives got confusing, "Follow the money trail." The contemporary Church hierarchy now has one thing on its mind and one only: money. If prejudice is the essence of evil, then this hierarchy is evil in its prejudice for cushy retirements, luxury lifestyles, glorious cathedrals,…

Yesterday in the public library I had a challenging conversation with a Protestant evangelical friend who holds the firm belief that the Bible is all she needs to live a holy life (Sola Scriptura). Her private interpretations of Scripture are the result of inward counsel and the Sunday preaching of…

Mother had a collection of vinyl records that I would listen to on a cold wintry day. Some of her vinyl had the interesting RCA Victor trademark label of a Jack Russell Terrier listening to an Edison bell-cylinder wind-up gramophone. The caption underneath read “His Master’s Voice,” with the cute…

Given the news cycle, the document Human Fraternity—issued by Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar—has used up its 15 minutes of fame. But let’s ignore that secular cycle. The Grand Imam speaks on behalf of a major Muslim center of learning. Pope Francis needs no introduction.…

Our local senior center holds a well-attended bingo game once a week. “B-10,” a moderator announces by microphone, and a hundred heads nod to scan their cards. It’s a good money maker for city services while providing a needed social event. Our local parish does the same to provide funding…

Former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Gerhard Cardinal Müller issued a "Manifesto of Faith" last week.  Many within the Church hailed the document as both necessary and timely.  Others responded less positively, attacking his manifesto as animated by a spirit of division and comparing him…

Dysfunction is the order of day, and at every level. Each of us, I’ll wager, wants to tell someone  “get your act together.” Plenty of people think that I need to hear the same message. And someone, no doubt, thinks that you, gentle reader, need to as well. Of course,…

Recently someone asked me, “what would be the first thing you would do if you were suddenly elected Pope?”  Although it was only a thought experiment, coming up with a single, first act was difficult.  The weight of spiritually fathering billions of people must be both daunting and crushing.  Ultimately…

It was 1953 when I found myself at 11 years old tuning into Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s weekly Tuesday night commentaries on our black and white television. I don’t know how I got motivated to watch him every week, because my parents weren’t into Catholicism. I was raised a Catholic,…

For three days in the winter of 1077, King Henry IV of Germany knelt barefoot in the snow, clad in a coarse wool shirt, outside a castle gate in northern Italy.  Inside the castle was Pope St. Gregory VII.  The king desperately wanted the Pope to hear his confession and…

Since its promulgation in 1995, St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae has become like a pro-life manifesto.  It is often cited not just for its eloquence but for its passionate defense of the great dignity of human life.  The saintly pontiff is quick to point out not just the…

My daughter’s coffee cup is big and brightly colored, with a charming picture of a girl on a bicycle holding a flower bouquet. What’s the message on the cup? It’s the heartening sentiment that “Life is a journey!” Hold on, now. Is there a question on the tip of your tongue?…

Cardinal Marx has called for "new thinking" on sexual issues, including celibacy. His liberal perspective reflects pressure to end mandatory priestly celibacy, a contested issue since sexual freedom has become a core principle of modern German culture. Catholics there have become skeptical of celibacy. Last November, the lay Central Committee…

There’s a nasty cold making the rounds. Flu season has officially started. Was that you sneezing? Bless you! Maybe I’ll add gesundheit! Or maybe not, since gesundheit only means “good health,” and once upon a time it signaled a toast. But a blessing is decidedly different, isn’t it? Let’s see…