Last week, another friar and I participated in a panel-discussion on religion and secularism at George Mason University. The event was sponsored and organized by the local chapter of the Secular Student Alliance. The panel consisted of three Christians—two Dominicans … Continue reading
Culture
You Too Were Strangers
Having heard a very different speech earlier in the day, my Dominican brothers and I sat down in our chapel a few Fridays ago and heard these words from the Prophet Moses: On your fathers did the Lord set His … Continue reading
Mocking Mercy
How does the world react to true mercy? Sometimes it laughs. I recently saw the film Silence, (spoiler alert) about two Jesuit missionaries in Japan during a time of terrible persecution, and it features one particularly striking character named Kichijiro. He … Continue reading
A Word for Bread
Editor’s note: This is the fourth post in a series commenting on the first words of Christ as presented in the Gospels. It is written,“One does not live by bread alone.” (Lk 4:4) With our modern dietary aversion to gluten … Continue reading
Resolutions
Is it better to make resolutions or to keep them? To keep them, obviously, you might huffily reply. Then why do we continue to make resolutions, seeing as we so often and easily break them? New Year’s resolutions in particular … Continue reading
Dominicana Journal: Winter 2016 print issue is here!
Merry Christmas! The newest issue of the print journal has arrived! Dominicana is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding as a print journal. Discontinued in 1968, refounded in 2011, this publication gives you the writings of the student brothers, … Continue reading
Cold Comfort
Ebenezer Scrooge, visited already by several Spirits, “was ready for a good broad field of strange appearances…nothing between a baby and rhinoceros would have astonished him very much.” I’ve had the pleasure of thinking about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol … Continue reading
Christmas Shopping
What hath Christ to do with Versace? I remember a Christmas morning interview with Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, on The Today Show. Asked how he felt living on 5th Avenue, in the heart of a world-renowned shopping … Continue reading
Grateful To Be One
Throwback Thursday Editors Note: On behalf of all the student brothers here at the Dominican House of Studies, we would like to thank all of you, our friends and benefactors, for helping us to pursue our Dominican vocation. Without your prayers … Continue reading
Religion is Not Race
There is a troubling tendency in our public discourse to reduce religion to race or ethnicity (the complex case of Judaism aside). On this view, religion is a more or less superficial feature of one’s identity—something akin to skin color … Continue reading
Tradition Old, Tradition New
The opening number of the Broadway classic Fiddler on the Roof contains a striking line: “Because of our traditions, every man knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” A modern viewpoint may well suspect the customs … Continue reading
The Standing Now
In a few days we will celebrate Christ the King, which anticipates the moment when Jesus returns, time ends, and eternal life begins. But what do we mean by “eternal”? Is it the same sort of eternity as a traffic … Continue reading
5 Meditations for Election Week
This election has all the attraction of a highway car crash. It’s gruesome to behold, but we can’t seem to turn away. Much of America is disillusioned about the candidates, yet record numbers watched the presidential debates. And like a … Continue reading
Prayer Box
Geneva Nielson was the type of woman that would make an old mule seem flexible. Two years ago, to the shock of everyone in town, she started going to church. There wasn’t anywhere particular she called home, as just “going … Continue reading
The Visceral Reality of God’s Love
I once heard a preacher tell his congregation that Catholics have a peculiar fascination with the gruesomeness of the crucifixion and that this sick fixation on “gore” was behind the death and darkness now celebrated on Halloween. “They love their … Continue reading
A Thrown Away Culture
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has spoken out against a modern “throwaway culture.” The Holy Father has perceived this culture in a variety of attitudes present today, from consumerist demands for disposable products, to a lack of care for creation, … Continue reading
Mary’s Roses: For the Family, for Peace
I learned to pray the Rosary as many Catholic children through the centuries have done, sitting with and listening to the (striving-to-be) holy matriarchs of my family. My mamá and my abuelas taught me about the love of the Holy … Continue reading
Angels and Afterparties
What color are an angel’s wings? White, of course. Unless they’re red, or gold, or black, or a rainbow, or any variety of shades. It seems that Christian artists through the centuries have had imaginations much more active than ours. Why bother … Continue reading
Lessons From The Garden
The medievals spoke of the Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature, both offering knowledge of God. Even within Scripture, men read from the Book of Nature: Adam naming the animals, Isaiah describing salvation as a desert in bloom, … Continue reading
Election Day
I don’t envy Trump or Clinton. They sit underneath the public microscope. Critics from either party want whatever dirt they can find. They clamor for financial statements and medical records. Such scrutiny would make any of us squirm. But just … Continue reading