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Spirituality
Transformation of the Rosary
The gift of contemplative prayer -- 1 of 4
The God who beckons
Spirituality in a time of deep recession
The lost significance of hunt and harvest
Mystery and magic of fertility nourish us, and our celebrations
Oct. 14, 2009
A yellow morel (Dreamstime)
It started in the blackberry patch. As a kid one July day I was taken to an overgrown pasture outside of town where gallons of this delicious wild fruit hung, free for the taking, on thorn-bristling vines that dropped heavily toward the earth. We filled our pails with berries until our hands were stained dark blue and then hauled them home to use in pies, cobblers and homemade ice cream.
Transformation of the Rosary
October is the Month of the Holy Rosary
Oct. 08, 2009
(CNS/Rueters photo)
My fishing buddy’s a Freemason. Who would have thought that he would transform my experience of the Rosary? One day he handed me a box. Someone had given him a set of Rosary beads with instructions how to use them. He figured that I’d know what to do with them.
10 Minutes with ... Harvey Cox
Oct. 01, 2009For more than four decades, Harvey Cox has been one of America's most influential and provocative theologians.
In his new book, The Future of Faith," Cox argues that Christianity is moving from an "Age of Belief" dominated by creeds and church hierarchies to an "Age of Spirit," in which spirituality is replacing formal religion.
Cox, who is retiring from Harvard, spoke about why he believes creeds are divisive, religion on campus, and why Pope Benedict XVI didn't invite him to lunch.
One of God's most beautiful names
Oct. 01, 2009
(Dreamstime)
Earth and Spirit
When we breathe out a heartfelt “Wow!” we are praying, for it’s more than just an element of surprise, originality, or a coolness factor that elicits this expression.
Kabir, a 12th-century Indian mystic, said: “When we say, ‘Ahhhhh!’ and say it with a deep sigh” -- the kind of exclamation that comes from our depths whenever we witness some aspect of the world’s blessing -- “that ‘Ahhhhh!’ is one of God’s most beautiful names.”
Eucharistic adoration: peaceful, despite the squabble
Sep. 16, 2009
A priest holds a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament during a procession in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ June 7, 2007. (CNS photo)
These days, some things may still be impossible to find online, but adoration chapels are not among them. Go to www.therealpresence.org, pick out your state on the big map and click. Up will pop a list of churches that expose the consecrated host for adoration, along with hours of operation and contact numbers.
Regardless of the city, the list should be striking for its length.
In the right place at the right time, help arrives
Sep. 01, 2009
(Margaret Scott)
Ministries
Ten o’clock one night, the on-call phone rang.
“Father?”
“Yes?”
“I need to speak to Shane.”
I didn’t know who was calling or why. I tried to explain I didn’t know a Shane and there was no one on staff by that name. Disgruntled, the lady hung up. The next morning I got another call, from another person asking for Shane. This person tried to explain the situation. He started by telling me his story.
The God who beckons
Recent discoveries in science have given us a new picture of the divine creator
Aug. 28, 2009
(Photos by NASA)
Katie was a second-grader in one of our schools. One Friday at art class as the teacher roamed the aisles checking progress, she stopped at Katie’s desk and asked, “Well, Katie, what are you drawing?”
“I am drawing a picture of God,” Katie said proudly.
“Katie,” the teacher answered, “you can’t draw a picture of God. Nobody knows what God looks like.”
Katie said, “They will when I’m finished.”
Franciscans find holy ground every step of pilgrimage
Aug. 14, 2009
A group of Franciscan friars who walked 300 miles from Virginia to Mount St. Sepulchre, the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, are pictured outside the monastery July 31. From left to right are Fr. Mark Soehner and Brs. Joshua Van Cleef, Roger Lopez, Richard Goodin and Clifford Hennings. (CNS/Rafael Crisostomo, Catholic Standard)
WASHINGTON -- Their pilgrimage destination was Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery in Washington -- popularly known to Catholics as the Little Holy Land -- but along the way six Franciscan friars from Chicago found that every step they took from southern Virginia to Washington was holy ground.
The lunar communion service
In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup
Jul. 20, 2009
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, accompanied by their wives, meet with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican Oct. 16, 1969. The pope called the Apollo 11 mission -- the first time humans reached the moon -- a "sublime vict ory." (CNS photo)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the first human to witness how liquid behaves in the weak gravitational field of the moon -- but this was no science experiment.
This was a believer giving thanks to God for an extraordinary adventure.
Forty years ago, in the first moments of July 20, 1969, after Aldrin had piloted the Eagle lunar module into the dust of the moon with only seconds of fuel to spare, he asked NASA for a radio blackout. He suggested that people around the world take the opportunity to "contemplate for a moment the events of the last few hours, and to give thanks in his own individual way."
Vatican newspaper has praise for Potter film
Jul. 14, 2009VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican newspaper gave the new Harry Potter movie four stars for promoting "friendship, altruism, loyalty and self-giving."
As "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was set to open worldwide July 15, L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, once again downplayed concerns that the film and book series by J.K. Rowling promote magic and witchcraft.
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