Learning to be Quick to Listen

Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in condemning a massacre in Syria, and he called for Christian and Muslim leaders in the country to guide their faithful in prayer and collaboration to restore peace and calm. The massacre in Houla May 25-26 left about 108 people dead, including 49 children and 34 women. The U.N. Security Council May 27 condemned the massacre of civilians and, while not pinning all the blame on the Syrian government, it accused the government of inappropriately using heavy weapons in a residential area. In a statement May 28, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the massacre was "a motive of great sorrow and concern for the Holy Father and the entire Catholic community, as it is for the international community which has expressed unanimous condemnation of the incident. Renewing its appeal for an end to all forms of violence, the Holy See exhorts the parties involved and the entire international community to spare no efforts t...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius delivered her remarks as scheduled May 18 at Georgetown University at an awards ceremony during the university's commencement week events. According to The Hill newspaper, she was interrupted after she began her speech by a protester shouting something about "abortion." The paper said the individual was escorted from the room "and continued yelling for several minutes outside." In her remarks at Georgetown's Public Policy Institute ceremony, Sebelius did not mention the criticism of the university's invitation to her to speak on campus, but the Archdiocese of Washington was among those who strongly criticized her appearance at the Catholic university because of her role in the HHS contraceptive mandate. The nation's Catholic bishops have repeatedly criticized the mandate, saying it threatens the religious freedom of Catholic institutions such as universities, hospitals and social service agencies ...

David R. Carlin, Jr. has written an interesting op-ed piece that discusses the campaign to discredit Christian thinking which is highly evident in the current argument for gay marriage. Now, none other than the President of the United States has become a willing vessel for this immoral nonsense. Carlin writes, "A learned friend of mine recently wrote an op-ed piece for a newspaper in which she argued that the drive for same-sex marriage is not simply about same-sex marriage; it is also about winning moral approval for homosexuality. If society, acting through the state, tells us that homosexuals can marry one another, then it is by the same token telling us that there is nothing morally objectionable about homosexual conduct. My friend is, of course, correct. But I’ll add to this that the drive for same-sex marriage is not simply about same-sex marriage or the moral legitimization of homosexual behavior; it is also about the de-legitimizing of Christian morality. More, it is about...

Have you ever really thought about the motive of Judas Iscariot? I was watching an interesting movie recently about this apostle who is known as the one who betrayed Jesus. It was Judas who identified Jesus when the Sanhedrin came to arrest him. The movie attempted to give back-story to who Judas really was. The main message was that Judas dearly loved Jesus but he thought that he knew more than Jesus. In the end, just like in the Garden of Eden, it was ego that caused Judas to lose his way. He wanted Jesus to be a certain kind of leader. He wanted Jesus to ascertain his kingship. Judas was from Jerusalem so when Jesus went there on Palm Sunday, Judas was very happy. It may have been the first time that Judas had been to his hometown in three years. Like many of us who attach ourselves to other people and then depend on their power to define who we are, Judas wanted to show off Jesus. He wanted everyone to know that he was with the King of the Jews. Judas understood leadership in a cer...

The church's first martyr found the strength to face his accusers because of his close relationship with God, Pope Benedict XVI said. St. Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death, upheld the faith and gave witness to Christ as the righteous one proclaimed by the prophets, the pope said during the general audience in St. Peter's Square May 2. Continuing his catechesis on Christian prayer, the pope focused on St. Stephen, who was "accused of saying that Jesus would destroy the temple and the customs handed down by Moses." The saint told his accusers the body of Jesus is the new temple of God; it is in Jesus that God and humanity are in true contact, which makes real communion with God and transformation possible, the pope said. The saint explained how God does not dwell in places made by human hands; the "new true temple where God dwells is in his son," who gathers and unites all people in the sacrament of his body and blood, the pope said. To...

Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith." To live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be "working through charity," abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church. This quote from the Catechism provides an important lesson for today's Catholics. In the U.S., there are clearly dark forces working to harm the Church. We as Catholics must learn about our faith so that we can combat heresy, inaccuracies, and propaganda. I find it amusing that the anti-Catholic special interest groups are using the argument that since most Catholics don't adhere to the our Church's teaching on birth control, we should not be upset that Obamacare...