By Dr. Alma Burnette. “In beginning created Elohim (…) the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 In the center of this verse, in Hebrew, is an untranslatable word, which is two Hebrew letters — the “aleph” and the “tav” — the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Greek the letters are the […]
By Father Jeffrey VonLehmen. In the Gospels Jesus says, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” What does that mean to each of us? How is Jesus present in the Eucharist? Most of us, at one time or another, find ourselves either asking that question or trying to explain the mystery for someone […]
By Deacon Timothy Britt. There is a show on T.V. called “The X Files.” It’s about two F.B.I. agents who investigate strange and unexplained events, like ghosts and UFOs. The show’s tagline is “the truth is out there.” I always thought of that tagline as saying that there was a rational explanation for all the […]
By David Cooley. It seems like a growing number of people that I’ve spoken to lately are having a difficult time finding joy in life. This worries me, especially as fall creeps in and the cold months of winter get closer. Many people seem down, cynical, defeated and tired of the way things have been […]
By David Cooley. In the midst of all that is going on in our country and in our world, it’s not surprising that Natural Family Planning Awareness Week (July 19-25) passed by under the radar without winning much interest or attention. In a way, it’s fitting because Natural Family Planning (NFP) is one of the […]
By David Cooley. I continue to be amazed by our divided nation. A wise priest once told me that you can always see where the devil is hard at work because of all the anxiety and division he causes. The more I pay attention the more this seems increasingly obvious. Another thing I remember from […]
By David Cooley. No one could have guessed at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year how things would end abruptly before the month of April. It is fair to say that many people are grieving in some way, and rightly so. Instead of the usual end-of-the-year excitement and celebrations, there has been isolation and […]
By David Cooley. “Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go …” Those were among the last words spoken — 77 years ago —by a 21-year-old German girl named Sophie Scholl before she was executed by her own government in the dark times of the Nazi regime. Sophie was a loving, spunky, young […]
By David Cooley. I have read many religious resources that state that there is a crisis of faith among Catholic young people. I don’t doubt that at all. Recent studies estimate that only 20 percent of young Catholics are practicing their faith by the age of 22. But I wonder, is there not also a […]
By David Cooley. Since becoming co-director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation, I have been reflecting on what I call the three C’s — catechesis, confidence and courage. These three C’s are connected in many ways. One thing they have in common, unfortunately, is that they are often lacking in today’s society. The […]