The Narthex
Remembering the Fire of Freedom
Normal people can recall when they saw or were near history-altering events
By John M. Grondelski | October 4th 2024 2:45 PMTim Walz has been called out several times over the accuracy of his claims, most recently about his alleged presence in communist China during the Tiananmen demonstrations of June 1989. During the October 1 Vice Presidential debate, “Knucklehead” Tim walked back his earlier claims to being an eyewitness to history,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWe Are Not Alone
Guardian Angels are proof God does not leave us alone 'to work out our salvation'
By John M. Grondelski | October 2nd 2024 11:47 AMOctober 2 is the feast of the Guardian Angels. I hold a particular devotion to the Guardian Angels. Angels, after all, testify to a certain hierarchy of being: from inanimate things (rocks) to beings with simple vegetative souls (the principle by which something lives, e.g., flowers) to beings with simple…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Final Quarter (and Not in Football)
Let's ask, with the proverb, whether we’ve grown a year older but none the wiser
By John M. Grondelski | September 30th 2024 9:23 PMOctober 1 marks the start of the fourth and final quarter of 2024. In 90 days, we will be celebrating New Year’s Day and making “resolutions.” It’s your last chance to consider what you did with last year’s resolutions. I’ve tried this year to flag the passage of the quarters…
READ FULL BLOG POSTReceiving a Child & One's Cross
Sacrifice is part of parenthood and marriage because it is part of the human condition
By John M. Grondelski | September 24th 2024 11:24 AMJesus told His disciples that as they “receive” a child, they receive not just Him but He who sent Him. In the past I have written about Jesus’ words in light of Catholic teaching about parenthood and openness to life (article linked below). If we are to recognize children and,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTJust Do It!
Nike’s trademark is also good prayer advice
By John M. Grondelski | September 19th 2024 12:13 PMA commonplace excuse for why people do not pray is they “don’t have time.” Taken at face value, some might imagine it plausible but, honestly, probed a little harder, the excuse often collapses for the rationalization it is. September 19 is the anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance at La Salette…
READ FULL BLOG POST'Languages' of Religion
Francis at times ignores the primacy and uniqueness of Christ's message. Why?
By John M. Grondelski | September 16th 2024 8:37 PMImagine a scenario where Jesus and his modern disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They say in reply, "Allah, others Brahma or Buddha, still others Confucius or one of the ethical teachers." And…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #13
The Value of a Smile... Overheard Conversations... 'The Doctor Will Kill You Now'... and more
By John M. Grondelski | September 13th 2024 2:25 PMThe Value of a Smile This morning, a woman sat opposite me on the Metro. I didn't know her nor she me, but I did notice one thing. She smiled, not just at me but at whomever she looked. She didn't try to pretend she saw nobody in a car…
READ FULL BLOG POSTHiding from God versus Boxing up God
Do we withdraw from the sacred, or do we try to circumscribe it?
By John M. Grondelski | September 12th 2024 11:50 AMFollowing the Fall, the human reaction was to hide from God. When God calls to the man and the woman, the man announces he is hiding, ostensibly because of his nakedness -- which he also was before he sinned -- but really because of the guilt sin unleashed. It unleashed…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Truth about Kamala Harris on Abortion
She dodges and deflects on this question to make her extremism look 'moderate'
By John M. Grondelski | September 11th 2024 12:01 PMIn her debate answers on abortion, Kamala Harris showed how she will dodge and deflect on this question to make her pro-abortion extremism look "moderate." Catholics need to be clear about -- and tells others -- how Kamala Harris (and Democrats) lie about abortion. Harris says she will “reinstate Roe…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA New Kind of Chaplain
A Massachusetts school wants a syncretist to run 'interfaith' programs
By John M. Grondelski | September 10th 2024 11:36 AMBentley is a private university in Waltham, just outside Boston, Massachusetts. It started life as a business school but a cursory look at its webpage suggests it has graduated to woke. It’s “more than business” because it creates “leaders for positive change” by “redefining success” (check with your employer whether…
READ FULL BLOG POSTIs Retirement 'Unproductive'?
Should human life be seen primarily through an economic lens?
By John M. Grondelski | September 6th 2024 11:41 AMWe need to change the subject in discussions about retirement from the economic (in)solvency of Social Security to the meaning and significance of retirement. My thoughts on this were sparked by a new book by Teresa Ghilarducci titled Work, Retire, Repeat. Her argument is that many people are working past…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Unity of the Moral Life
The social order is not insulated from the Law of God
By John M. Grondelski | September 4th 2024 11:26 AMLast Sunday’s readings focused on the unity of the moral life, the common thread connecting the readings. Because some clergy might have been inclined to focus on the “heart,” on the intention of the moral agent, let’s take a step back and see all the readings in one big picture.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #12
Freedom Versus Self-Will... Sr. Theresa Kane, RIP... Fr. Reese on Deacons... September Nature...
By John M. Grondelski | September 2nd 2024 11:39 AMFreedom Versus Self-Will Continuing my way through Roman Brandstaetter's superb literary corpus, I ran into a collection of short meditations he penned, inspired by his positive encounter with Franciscanism. He spoke of a writer, sitting at his desk, who noticed a bee walking along his window pane. Caringly, he opened…
READ FULL BLOG POSTChoosing & Seeing Christ
Three thoughts about the readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
By John M. Grondelski | August 26th 2024 8:51 PM“Accompaniment” is a buzzword in the Francis papacy. It’s striking, then, that it appeared in the Gospel last Sunday, though not exactly in the manner to which current ecclesiastics have grown accustomed. Sunday’s Gospel wrapped up the Eucharistic teaching of Jesus we have been reading from John 6 these last…
READ FULL BLOG POSTEzekiel & the Ecclesia
Are we serious about the cleansing of the temple?
By John M. Grondelski | August 22nd 2024 12:09 PMIn the middle of summer in Year II of the weekday lectionary, the Church’s First Reading includes excerpts from the major prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel wrote during and after the Exile. To situate the story: For those who remember their grade school world history, Israel was at the western end of…
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