Monthly Archives: July 2016

Ignatius of Loyola and His Stars

Posted on 31 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Received an email from the Vatican Observatory Foundation observing today’s feast. It included this quote from his autobiography: The greatest consolation that he received at this time was from gazing at the sky and stars, and this he often did and for … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Saints | 5 Comments

On My Bookshelf: Something Old, Something New

Posted on 31 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Not a book title, but just a reference to two books that have been on my desktop at work for the past few months. A staff colleague gave me a copy of Matthew Kelly’s 2011 book The One Thing. Sixty … Continue reading →

Posted in On My Bookshelf, spirituality | 1 Comment

Amoris Laetitia 117: Hope Inspires a Supernatural Perspective

Posted on 31 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Our hope is for an eventual settlement in heaven. One perspective on our attitude toward our spouse: 117. Here hope comes most fully into its own, for it embraces the certainty of life after death. Each person, with all his … Continue reading →

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Sunday Mass Without Music

Posted on 30 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Pondering that (usually early) Sunday Mass without music, I was thinking back to the parishes I’ve served over the years. My first parish had music at the 8AM Mass, even the Gloria. But the repertoire was basic, and generally different … Continue reading →

Posted in Liturgical Music, Liturgy | 7 Comments

Amoris Laetitia 116: Love Hopes All Things

Posted on 30 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

I don’t know about your experience, but I think hope is somewhat more scarce these days, and even in church circles, less cultivated than the related virtues of faith and love. 116. Panta elpízei. Love does not despair of the … Continue reading →

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Amoris Laetitia 115: Trust Into Freedom

Posted on 29 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

The controlling vector Pope Francis describes here is often the work of an unsteady and low self-esteem spouse who struggles mightily on the inside in dealing with the freedom and joy of love. Let’s read: 115. This trust enables a … Continue reading →

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Listening In Disagreement: Dare To Be Quiet

Posted on 28 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

A facebook friend posted a link to this brief essay on listening. A poignant story, then a poetic conclusion: The truth is, if our love can hold space for paradox, tension, and disagreement, there’s room for all types of beliefs … Continue reading →

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Open Thread on Accounts and Guarantees

Posted on 28 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

From our occasional commenter, Dick Martin cited Hebrews 10:9-14(NKJV): (T)hen He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through … Continue reading →

Posted in Rite of Penance | 33 Comments

Amoris Laetitia 114: Love Believes All Things

Posted on 28 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

People often remark to someone, “I believe in you.” This is not false worship: 114. Panta pisteúei. Love believes all things. Here “belief” is not to be taken in its strict theological meaning, but more in the sense of what … Continue reading →

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Amoris Laetitia 113: How Spouses Speak Of One Another

Posted on 27 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Much is made of the importance of speaking out, pointing out the faults of others. Too often done publicly, Pope Francis suggests we miss the bigger picture: 113. Married couples joined by love speak well of each other; they try … Continue reading →

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Amoris Laetitia 112: On Slander

Posted on 26 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Pope Francis looks to the opposite, one possible opposite, of bearing all things, a common enough sin that dogs many believers, even those at the very center of service: 112. First, Paul says that love “bears all things” (panta stégei). … Continue reading →

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Amoris Laetitia 111: Love Bears All Things

Posted on 25 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

A very brief section: 111. Paul’s list ends with four phrases containing the words “all things”. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Here we see clearly the countercultural power of a love that … Continue reading →

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Moving On From Lot’s Wife

Posted on 24 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

I’ve always loved the cheek of bargaining with God in Genesis 18. Abraham is well aware of his creaturely status, but comes back again and again to make his case for a few innocents in Sodom. He’s thinking of Lot, no … Continue reading →

Posted in Liturgy, Scripture, spirituality | 7 Comments

Amoris Laetitia 110: Looking Beyond Our Own Needs

Posted on 24 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Today, more on the thought that love “does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Cor 13:6): 110. When a loving person can do good for others, or sees that others are happy, they themselves live happily … Continue reading →

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Amoris Laetitia 109: Love Rejoices With Others

Posted on 23 July 2016 by catholicsensibility

Watching injustice, and celebrating it: like Catholics don’t know about that. 109. The expression chaírei epì te adikía has to do with a negativity lurking deep within a person’s heart. It is the toxic attitude of those who rejoice at … Continue reading →

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