The gospel has never made the claim that God is going to eradicate suffering and death in this world. On the contrary, it tells us that creation is groaning in eager expectation for the sons of God to ...

Among the anniversaries in the Church’s calendar of holy days, the ascension of Jesus Christ probably causes modern Christians more embarrassment than joy. Coming forty days after Easter, Ascension ...

This article is the third in an ongoing series on the atonement, following Richard Mouw’s “Violence and the Atonement” [January/February 2001] and Hans Boersma’s “The Disappearance of Punishment” ...

“Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord” (Daniel 3:57). A sense of the entire cosmos pervades this canticle taken from the Book of Daniel, which the Liturgy of the Hours proposes for Sunday morning ...

Before Mass begins, I try to converse with whoever might be standing in the back of church. On a weekday without school, that might only be the altar servers. I often ask, “What have you got planned ...

A rich tradition of literary and visual art—think of the lyrical poetry of the English Roman­tics, the writing of the American Tran­scen­den­talists, or the landscape paintings of the French ...

The practice of tattooing has nearly always been rejected in Christian tradition. The usual proof text is Leviticus 19:28: “You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks ...

For those of us in the liturgical churches, the long and — for some — dreary season of Lent is upon us again. For 40 days the faithful traditionally give something up for Lent, usually a treat of some ...

The Christmas holiday is coming upon us, with colorful lights, joyful carols and people going to churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus (Prophet Isa). It is well known, particularly in this holiday ...

Before reciting the Angelus on Sunday at Mirabello Castle, near the spot where he is vacationing in northern Italy, Pope Benedict XVI said vacations are not only a time for physical rest but also for ...