For many people today, practical atheism is the normal rule of life...If this attitude becomes a general existential position, then freedom no longer has any standards, then everyting is possible and permissible.
Celibacy is always, shall we say, an affront to what man normally thinks. It is something that can be done, and is only credible, if there is a God and if celibacy is my doorway into the kingdom of God.
Assuredly, the word of truth can be painful and uncomfortable. But it is the way to holiness, to peace, and to inner freedom. A pastoral approach which truly wants to help the people concerned must always be grounded in the truth. In the end, only the truth can be pastoral.
In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished; this is a real threat we face.
That Christianity gives joy and breadth is also a thread that runs through my whole life. Ultimately someone who is always only in opposition could not endure life at all.
This being Good Friday, on a short list of 2 days - the other being Easter Sunday - which vie for being the most important days in a year, there is a bit of reflection on what the day entails. I list a few:
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar