13 Pentecost Jer. 18:1-11 [Deut. 30:15-20] Ps. 139:1-5, 12-17 [Ps. 1] Phm. 1-21 Luke 14:25-33 The call to hate one’s mother and father, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even one’s own life is so startling that for most it provokes an immediate and natural protest. “I love them; so I WILL NOT be your disciple!” To a few, though, this invitation may come as a … [Read more...] about 9/8 Readings: Humanity Truly Humane
family
Joan of Arc’s Family Drama
By Retta Blaney When she was growing up, Jane Anderson had an odd role model for a young girl who was not Catholic. She looked all the way back to the 15th century and found inspiration from a French peasant who was burned at the stake for heresy. “Always when I was a teenager I looked at Joan of Arc as an iconic character,” Anderson said. “I wanted to be like that, with … [Read more...] about Joan of Arc’s Family Drama
Tightly Focused Study
Soul Mates Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage among African Americans and Latinos By W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas H. Wolfinger Oxford University Press. Pp. 225. $27.95 Review by M. Dion Thompson Anyone looking to see how much American society has changed in the last few decades need look no further than the American family. The declining influence of religion, … [Read more...] about Tightly Focused Study
Discomfiting Theater
By Retta Blaney More than a decade ago, playwright Bruce Graham read a newspaper feature about a transit bus bound for New York City’s Rikers Island Correctional Center. Graham started thinking about the people who rode buses like that to the remote areas where prisons tend to be located. A self-described liberal, the 60-year-old South Philadelphia native was also pondering … [Read more...] about Discomfiting Theater
How Does the Synod Work?
Letter from RomeBy John P. ShimekThe Synod of Bishops, meeting in Rome for the 14th time since its founding in 1965, is discussing the role of the family until Oct. 24.Pope Paul VI formally created the institution on Sept. 15, 1965, in his Apostolic Letter Apostolica Sollicitudo. About a month later, on Oct. 28, he signed the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Pastoral … [Read more...] about How Does the Synod Work?