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An old friend from the pro-life movement has been tossing Catholic stuff at me, attacking “social justice warriors” – or SJWs, an acronym that reduces six syllables to five and obscures what you’re saying, but it’s an insult. I’m a pro-life SJW, and so are the Catholic leaders whose words are being abused by the cultural warriors of the right. There are three fundamental documents that the right abuses: Humanae Vitae, Familiaris Consortio, and The Gospel of Life ). All three incorporate a social justice approach. The first time the documents are censored and abused it might be just careless. But when anti-abortion chanters with bulldog brains repeat the careless errors, that seems stupid. And when they persevere after hearing the truth, that seems dishonest. Humanae Vitae Pope Paul VI wrote the encyclical Humanae Vitae . It’s odd listening to people talk about Paul VI; some people describe him as a neglected leftwing prophet of social justice; others describe him as a ...

Today (1/17) is the feast of St. Anthony, who fled into the desert – not to escape from the legitimate demands of love, but to escape from the reign of superficial and demented and mis-shapen nonsense and evil. So, I hear in my heart a question from yesterday and an answer today. Yesterday’s Gospel reading was from the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, or near the beginning. It was another story – this one a very brief vignette – tying salvation and hospitality together. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and she got up and served. The clear proof that she was healed was that she offered hospitality. Is that generalizable? Is it true for everyone that healing leads directly and promptly to hospitality? That penance and reconciliation lead to the Eucharist, that Good Friday leads to Easter, that the parting of the Red Sea is followed by manna in the desert, that the end of evil is the beginning of love? Or is it specific to her? Is it just Peter’s mother-in-law who does this? I...

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. She’s among the small handful of men and women who have been canonized by the Catholic Church who are known for their work in what is now the United States. I think it’s worthwhile looking at the list of American saint, with an eye on issues of migration. First, the whole list: there are 11 canonized saints known for their work in the United States. 1.        St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. From Italy, worked with Italians immigrants 2.        St. Junipero Serra, from Catalonia (Spain), came north from Mexico and worked with native Americans 3.        St. Marianne Cope, immigrant from Germany, worked with leprosy patients in Hawaii 4.        St. Damien de Veuster, “Damien the Leper,” from Belgium, worked with leprosy patients in Hawaii 5.        St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, fr...

New Year’s Day, the eighth day of Christmas. The reading at Mass today is from Luke’s Gospel, about the shepherds visiting, and about naming Jesus. I was struck afresh by the name. Matthew’s Gospel also says that the child’s name is Jesus, but adds that, in accord with the Isaiah’s prophecy, he will be called Emmanuel. Jesus means Savior. Emmanuel means God-with-us. With us: what does that mean? I think it means that someone was visiting someone, that there was a host and guest – although it wasn’t necessarily clear which was which. When the King of the Universe comes to his own (and his own people debate whether to acknowledge him), who’s host, and who’s guest? Throughout Scripture, the issue of host/guest relations comes up over and over, and they are often intermingled – not in confusion, but in unity. They are brought together as one. The key images in Scripture of the unity of the Trinity are: (1) the Father/Son relationship, the two united by the Spirit of Love; and...