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Hope and Her Daughters

From the March 2021 Print Edition

The virtue of hope has two beautiful daughters, anger and courage: anger with the way things are, and courage to change them for the better. These powerful words (you can find them all over the internet) are attributed to St. Augustine. Unfortunately, they may not be his. A friend of mine who is an . . . . Continue Reading »

Until We Rest in Him

From the November 2020 Print Edition

I’ve been dreading this November for the past year. In half a century of voting, I’ve been worried or frustrated by our public life many times. But 2020 has a unique toxicity, as if the whole nation were heaving, rudderless, on an ocean of poisonous blame. There is no peace and no dignity in our . . . . Continue Reading »

The Catholic Future

From the October 2020 Print Edition

In the Catholic Church, synods of bishops are complex bits of theater. The pope sets the theme, observes the proceedings, and writes the “apostolic exhortation” that translates a synod’s work into teaching. Some post-synodal texts, such as Paul VI’s Evangelii . . . . Continue Reading »