“I studied that girl, Joan of Arc, for twelve years,” Mark Twain said, “and it never seemed to me that the artists and the writers gave us a true picture of her. They drew a picture of a peasant. But they always missed the face—the divine soul, the pure character, the supreme woman, the wonderful […]
[The following is a republication of a previous Sunday reflection from the same period last year. It still seems relevant today.] This morning’s Gospel reading is Matthew 2:1–12: When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn […]
The question I should like at least to open is whether G.K. Chesterton had not both the deeper and greater mysticism, a mysticism closer to that of the saints, and a message far more valuable for the millions whose place is on the plains of daily effort and not on the mountains of asceticism and […]
The late Steve Masty’s “The Test of the Magi” is a novel that displays a powerful religious imagination and a profound knowledge of the history and cultures of the ancient world, as well as personal experience with the geography and anthropology of the middle east. The Test of the Magi, by Johannes Bergmann (254 pages, […]
As you celebrate New Year’s Day remember that for one thousand years the welcoming of a new year was not just a calendar event, but a culturally religious event which linked the renewal of nature with the redemption of the world. Some atheists, Muslims, and Christian fundamentalists like to grumble and gibe that the celebration […]
This morning’s Gospel reading is Luke 2:22–40: When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the […]
On Wednesday, the Biden administration stepped up its scrutiny against a Christian college in Arizona when the Federal Trade Commission announced a lawsuit against the school alleging “false advertising.” The FTC is targeting Grand Canyon University in Arizona, the nation’s largest Christian school, with a lawsuit against the school, its marketer Grand Canyon Education, Inc., […]
Older generations would do well to embrace humility by acknowledging that many, many young people give reason for hope. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes — a student-athlete-focused sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri — announced this week that “51,730 people made faith decisions for Christ” at various FCA events in 2023. At one recent […]
One little-noted effort Donald Trump took to Make America Great Again was a Dec. 2020 executive order combating the aggressive ugliness of the modern American public square. That effort is worth reviving. It is useful to recall that on this day in the year 537, a grand structure was inaugurated that still stands as […]
Why celebrate Christmas? Why throw a party, instead of going to church, in the first place? Is not this religious holiday, by nature calling us to quiet contemplation? Did you know that Christmas celebrations were banned in Scotland until 1958? I certainly did not, not until my son started working on his sixth-grade “Christmas around […]
Welcome, Login to your account.
Welcome, Create your new account
A password will be e-mailed to you.