In the Catholic News Herald’s July 12 cover story, “Reclaiming History,” celebrating Our Lady of Consolation Parish’s efforts to preserve a beloved...
As the Catholic News Herald cover wars in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere, mankind continues to seek peace without success. Perhaps we need to return...
Pope Francis’s discussion about “acedia” (the sin of “lack of care”) must be a call for all Catholics to help those in this rut. Assertively...
The sociologist and columnist Father Andrew Greeley often remarked that the successes of immigrant families in the 20th century were due to the many free...
Mother Teresa reminded us, “Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone. Person to person.” We may continue her legacy by sponsoring a child or family in...
Those of us who have experienced the death of a loved one, even if we believe that she or he has gone to a better place, still find ourselves struggling with the parting. It’s hard to let go. Sometimes it’s made a little easier if we have been present for someone’s last days, and at the moment of their death, when we experience the whole strange (and often quite beautiful) mystery of living and dying being played out before our very eyes.
As the temperature outside drops and the leaves turn brilliant colors, our thoughts turn toward the annual celebration of Thanksgiving. What a wonderful tradition we have as Americans to not only gather on this festive day with loved ones, but to have a special opportunity to thank almighty God for all the gifts He has bestowed on us as individuals, as families, as communities, as a nation, as a Church.
Who do you say that I am?
It’s the question Jesus posed to the men closest to Him, the one Peter answered with an unequivocal confession of faith in Him as the Messiah and Son of God: “Who do you say that I am?” The entirety of our Catholic faith rests on Peter’s response and, for 2,000 years, the Church has proclaimed the divinity of Jesus Christ and His eternal kingdom.
The supernatural is real. We all know it. We all know that there are “things visible and invisible,” and we’ve all experienced moments where the veil between the two has thinned and surprised us – through our dreams, our guts or our physical senses – with information we need, consolations that feed or warnings we’re smart to heed.
A young man I met recently declared, “I believe in evolution. I’m an atheist.” Unfortunately, I suspect he is one of many who think that faith in a Creator God is incompatible with the theory of evolution. Because science provides some evidence of evolution, it seems that faith in God must go. But is it a case of either evolution or faith in a Creator God, or can it be both/and?
Think for just a moment about the pace at which digital technology has grown over the past 20 years. Saying “fast” would be a bit of an understatement. Most of the time, the expansion and innovations of the digital culture leave our heads spinning. Now, with generative artificial intelligence, or AI, there’s more digital power in our hands than ever before.
Natural disasters are nothing new on the planet. The fact that they are referred to as “natural” begs the question why we are so often caught asking ourselves “why?” The latest rampages of Mother Nature in North America – Storm Helene (closely followed by Storm Milton) – brought unexpected destruction because of the high ground where it dumped its record-breaking rainfall.
As the hurricane closed in, weather broadcasters offered a steady stream of expert advice on how to prepare. Now that the storm is past, and we see how much damage and loss are left in the storm’s wake, some might feel bewildered about what to do next.
Read and listen to homilies posted regularly by pastors at parishes within the Diocese of Charlotte: