Lent is my favorite time of the liturgical year!  Perhaps it is because of my attraction to contemplative monastic life, and St. Benedict ‘s claim that “the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent” (RB 49:1).  But it also feels to me like a time where we are in tune with not only the liturgical calendar but also the  Read more

Welcome to Lent.  If you are like me, you have probably been hearing the question, “So, what are you giving up for Lent?”  I hope to change that question with this post.  The question I want to ask you is this: “What penance are you doing this Lent?” Perhaps the difference isn’t all that great, or it resides too much in my  Read more

David Brooks is becoming must-readable these days. Yesterday he had a column in the New York Times which, invoking the Harvard-grad and budding Asian-American NBA superstar Jeremy Lin, made the bold claim that, “The moral ethos of sport is in tension with the moral ethos of faith, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim.”  You see, Jeremy Lin is trying to be explicitly religious  Read more

Over the past three weeks, we have seen a firestorm concerning the question of whether not contraceptive methods approved by the FDA are or are not properly a matter of healthcare. Over the past three weeks, we have seen amazing unity within the Catholic community in response to a clear over-reach by the Administration. (A few months ago, I wrote on this  Read more

It is no secret that the medical establishment will do things that push the boundaries of ethics in order to get more organs.  From the Harvard Brain Death Commission claiming that living human bodies with homeostasis can be described as “dead”, to a 2009 Nature editorial which called for harvesting organs before brain death given that it is not a “clear, unambiguous  Read more

Word that the bishops are rejecting the Obama administration compromise on the HHS mandate means further conversations. DotCommonweal has a great update, but the comment thread made me think that before we Catholics devolve into the usual, unfortunate camps, I want to highlight three lessons that the events up to now should invite us as moral theologians to develop further: One, the  Read more

Yesterday, President Obama announced changes to the HHS mandate requiring every employer to cover contraceptives (including early abortifacients) and sterilization.  The White House is doing its best to spin this as a victory for both women’s health and religious liberty.  We even have a number of Catholics (most notably Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association) celebrating this as a great  Read more

Today’s announcement from the White House perhaps offers a compromise in the complexities of church/state relations. I am sure that there will continue to be responses to this new move in the days to come, but initially it seems that the shift allows for more of a range of religious freedom than the previous mandate, and many people will likely see it  Read more

I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend today’s event organized by the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life and the Chatham House. From the letter of invitation: “The end of the Cold War renewed the possibility of proportionate military intervention in sovereign states with a view to saving civilians from grave and massive harm. Shamed by Rwanda  Read more

Over the past three weeks, we have seen a firestorm concerning the question of whether not contraceptive methods approved by the FDA are or are not properly a matter of healthcare. Over the past three weeks, we have seen amazing unity within the Catholic community in response to a clear over-reach by the Administration. (A few months ago, I wrote on this  Read more

I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend today’s event organized by the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life and the Chatham House. From the letter of invitation: “The end of the Cold War renewed the possibility of proportionate military intervention in sovereign states with a view to saving civilians from grave and massive harm. Shamed by Rwanda  Read more

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Chapter 7 Once I assigned chapter seven of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church to an upper level theology class.  After reading it and taking a quiz, one of my better students raised a hand and said, “I don’t get it.  Is the Church liberal or conservative?” His comment perfectly exemplifies  Read more

Euthanasia, already a very hot topic, is getting even hotter in the UK and across Europe more generally. US law on these matters is also in flux. There are a lot of books out there on euthanasia, but one of the best is Nigel Biggar’s Aiming to Kill.  Unfortunately, if you were looking to get it for yourself or one of your  Read more

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Part II, Chapter 8   The Compendium begins its account of the role of the political community by recounting the biblical ambiguity with regard to political authority.  When the Israelites first ask the judge and prophet Samuel for a king (2 Samuel he warns them that kings will tax their harvests and send their  Read more

For a long time, North American Catholic moral theologians have lacked a specific journal in which to carry out their research. There are outstanding ethics journals, like the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, but the audiences for these journals are much broader and aren’t as interested in specifically Catholic concerns. And there are outstanding Catholic journals, like Theological Studies, but  Read more

A Canadian study and commentary on the global practices of euthanasia was released in November and has received much attention.  It was highlighted by the New York Times, Peter Singer, and yesterday Andrew Sullivan noted it. When these kinds of reports come out, which the Times claims were done by “top scientists”, it is of course prudent to examine the agenda and  Read more

Following is a guest post by Jessica Wrobleski, professor at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia: ‘Tis the season for celebration and remembrance, for resolution and anticipation and hope. For me—as, I am sure, for many who read and contribute here—one significant part of my Christmas holiday and anticipation of the year ahead involves planning for the classes that I will teach  Read more

You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s. . . . You shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s (Ex 20:17; Deut 5:21). I always find it a bit perplexing when I hear people argue that the Ten Commandments are foundational for American  Read more

Lent is my favorite time of the liturgical year!  Perhaps it is because of my attraction to contemplative monastic life, and St. Benedict ‘s claim that “the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent” (RB 49:1).  But it also feels to me like a time where we are in tune with not only the liturgical calendar but also the  Read more

Lectionary 80 Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25 Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14 2 Cor 1:18-22 Mk 2:1-12 The gospel reading for this week challenges us to see faith as something more than an individual act of belief. The Catechism tells us that “Faith is a personal act . . . But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as  Read more

Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46; Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45 The drama in the Gospel reading takes place against the backdrop of the Mosaic Law, which was for Israel the means for living out her covenantal relationship with God. The commandments given to Israel were the conditions for maintaining right relationship with this God who chose them from among the  Read more

 February 5, 2012 ~ Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39   “Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.” The responsorial psalm from this Sunday’s readings is a fitting link between the misery of Job that we encounter in the First Reading and the healing works of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel.   Read more

Tomorrow is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and patron saint of students and Catholic universities. Born in Roccasecca (1225), Thomas entered the famous Benedictine abbey of Montecassino at the age of five, where he began his studies. As a young teenager, he first made contact with the new mendicant order known as the Order of Preachers, or  Read more

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 95 I Corinthians 7: 32-35 Mark 1:21-28 “I want you to be free from anxieties.” Apparently, Paul was not following the latest research on the correlation between marriage and anxiety.  Numerous studies have now shown that those who remain married over a life span are less anxious, more emotional well-balanced, and generally happier than those who are not married  Read more

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 The readings for this week reveal just how difficult it can be at times to look to scripture for moral guidance. In the reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul tells his hearers, “from now on, let those having wives act as not having them.” The lectionary selection follows some even trickier  Read more

Readings: 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20; John 1:35-42 The return to Ordinary Time offers us an opportunity to get back to the basics of the Christian journey – in this case, the fundamental task of listening for God’s voice in our lives. After all the changes in the liturgy, I suspect it will also be a relief  Read more

Is. 60:1-6 Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 Mt 2:1-12 This Sunday is the Feast of Epiphany, the conclusion of the Twelve Days of Christmas which commemorates the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God, to the whole world. On this day, we have the first revelation of the church catholic (i.e. the universal church) as God-made-flesh, though born of  Read more