Did the Resurrected Christ Appear to His Blessed Mother?
Tradition has insisted that the mother of Jesus had her own private experience of her Resurrected Son.
The Jesus Movement: From Bust to Boom
By all immediate measures, Jesus’s ministry was a total failure. But it wasn’t for lack of effort or commitment. At the prime of life, Jesus left his carpentry bench in Nazareth for the dusty roads of Palestine. For three years he promoted his brand, wowing crowds with miracles and captivating them with his teaching. On … Read more
He Is Risen! Evidence Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Some time ago, literary critic Stanley Fish observed that religion was “transgressing the boundary between private and public and demanding to be heard.” And that’s a dangerous thing because, as Mr. Fish sees it, religion is based on claims that are excluded from tests of “deliberative reason.” Take the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “The assertion … Read more
A Novena in Honor of the Body?
Since 2012, the Catholic bishops of the United States have dedicated the two weeks before Independence Day as a “Fortnight for Freedom,” to highlight the growing threats to religious liberty and free exercise of religion in the United States. I would like to suggest a new idea for the bishops: a novena to affirm the … Read more
Is Grace Amazing or Appalling?
The religion professor asked the students, “Why do you think Jesus was persecuted by the religious establishment of his day?” Their answers: “He healed on the Sabbath,” “He dissed the Jewish leaders,” “He hung out with sinners and tax collectors.” Finally, the daughter of a personal friend replied, It was because of grace. The Jews … Read more
Confounded by the Resurrection
When asked about the resurrection, clinical psychologist and sudden internet celebrity, Jordan Peterson responded, “I need to think about that for about three more years before I would even venture an answer.” Lisa Miller, religion editor for Newsweek, is another matter. Miller doesn’t “buy” the resurrection of Jesus, or of anyone else for that matter. … Read more
What is Easter?
Easter Sunday this year falls on April Fools’ Day. A tradition exists about “Christ the Fool.” It probably originates from when Pilate sent Christ to see Herod. Herod was anxious to see him. See him do what? See him perform. He had heard much about this man and his miracles. So naturally the king wanted … Read more
Why It Matters How We Are Buried
The Jesuit retirement home where I have lived almost four years now usually has some seventy or eighty residents, all over seventy, all having already been blessed with many days on this green earth. We have one man over a hundred, a couple of others nearing it. During the time of my residence here, some … Read more
The Resurrection Difference
At the Yorktown surrender in 1781, the British band played a tune traditional to the ballad “The World Turned Upside Down.” In the 1640s the ballad had been written as a broadside against the suppression of Christmas festivities by the Puritan parliament. In some ways, the world had indeed been turned upside down, at least … Read more
Easter Hope Amid the Horror of Death
As anyone with half-a-brain knows, success in the publishing world is measured by the number of books sold. What many do not know, of course, is that there are only two categories that perennially produce best sellers. Cookbooks and diet books. How wonderfully self-cancelling they are, too. While the one will tell you what to … Read more
My Favorite Sports Day of the Year
Having Easter and Opening Day this close together definitely falls under the “Embarrassment of Riches” category for me. I’m sitting here amidst a sea of empty plastic eggs and Peep wrappers, watching my beloved Dodgers’ attempts to mount a come-back against the oft-hapless Pittsburgh Pirates. The latest 3-run HR from the Bucs’ catcher makes said … Read more