Few have better traced the roots of our contemporary loss of faith than Charles Taylor in his massive work, A Secular Age for Spiritual Exercises. The Canadian philosopher sees the process beginning with the Reformation, which with its emphasis on personal faith and its discomfort with sacraments, priesthood and the sacred, abolished the enchanted medieval cosmos, leading in time to the creation of a humanist alternative faith.[1] In their emphasis on “faith alone” and “Scripture alone,” the Reformers contributed to...
A significant disproportion Before dealing with the individual cardinal virtues, I had the opportunity to address the subject of the deadly vices. It was clear to see the great interest in the themes, especially as found among the humanities, philosophy, art, literature and spirituality. Such a multiplicity of approaches is an indication of the richness and complexity of human actions. It is essential to understand the seriousness of their consequences, but above all the good sought in them, even if...
The polyvalence of the term “culture” reflects the wealth of meanings of the Latin verb colere: among them, to cultivate a field (cereals), to care for or adorn one’s body, to protect, to inhabit, to practice a virtue or study, to honor, to serve with a cult a certain god or a sanctuary. Hence there is the close relationship in Latin languages of words relating to agriculture, culture (customs and knowledge) and cult (religious or civic). They convey notions of...
In the early centuries, Christianity spread through a world that was completely pervaded by religion. There was no gesture or action that was not accompanied by a religious act, in both the private and public spheres. There was no place, beginning with the stars, that was not associated with some deity. The sun, the moon, the constellations were considered divine beings. As for the things of the Earth: springs, rivers, seas, mountains, forests, everything bore the imprint of a divine...
The term “pastoral” is presently used throughout the Church but nowhere is it defined and there is a great deal of confusion as to its use and interpretation. I note that “pastoral” – a term which has an etymology derived from shepherding – has been appropriated by the Church into an administrative/juridical structure but yet retains the more general descriptive content of qualities such as mercy, forgiveness and suchlike, both in the Church and the world, something which Pope Francis...
This article reflects on the social conditions that can facilitate the handing on of the faith to new generations. What nutrients are needed in the new soil of today’s childhood and youth for them to embrace the faith of our ancestors? What dispositions will we need to cultivate in each growing person so that the incarnate Jesus will find a crib in which to be born? How can the way be gradually smoothed out so that the manifestation of Christ...
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