In his newest encyclical, Pope Francis calls on Catholics and people of good will to “dream together” (no. 8) as members of a “single family dwelling in a common home” (no. 17) in order to build a “community of belonging and solidarity” (no. 36). Fratelli Tutti reinforces themes Francis has stressed throughout his pontificate: the… Read More Fratelli Tutti: A Call To Love and Accept All
In First Things, RR Reno writes, “There is a demonic side to the sentimentalism of saving lives at any cost.” Is this sentimentalism? Or is it the care for the human person that Jesus showed by healing the sick? Jesus identifies his mission as the promotion of life in abundance (John 10:10). The Catechism states… Read More It’s Not Demonic to Close Churches to Protect Human Lives and the Vulnerable
Two unfinished Masses are linked to the legacy of Saint Óscar Romero, pointing to his unfinished work to see Christ in and be Christ for the poor, marginalized, and excluded. Forty years ago, Óscar Romero was murdered while he celebrated Mass in the Divine Providence cancer hospital chapel. The Gospel was from John 12:23-26: “Unless… Read More The Unfinished Work of Saint Óscar Romero
I’ll never forget standing in the rose garden at the UCA—the Jesuit university of El Salvador—and being hit with the costliness of Jesuit education. On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper Elba, and her teenage daughter Celina, were dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, taken into the courtyard of… Read More Remembering the UCA Martyrs: The Costliness of Jesuit Education
This Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 10:25-37) might be Jesus’ best-known story. How many times have you heard the phrase, “Good Samaritan”? Even non-Christians know the term suggests someone who is kind, generous, or brave. But few of us fully understand – much less live up to – the demands of Jesus’ teaching. Here are 10 things… Read More How to Really Understand the Parable of the Good Samaritan
In 2005 and 2006, my wife and I led a group of high school and college students to Guatemala for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. We learned about Mayan culture and what refugees endured during a 36-year civil war, and we saw firsthand the widespread poverty, unemployment, and other social problems (substance abuse, domestic violence, gang activity,… Read More Migrants Are Fighting for Survival
I am the product of 14 years of Jesuit education. I see the world through the lenses of Cura Personalis and “Women and Men for and with Others.” I am who I am because of Jesuits – and many lay partners in mission – aspiring to be ever more attentive and responsive to God’s activity… Read More Learning and Living Magis
Millennial 