Mission and ministry flow from the abiding, transforming presence of Christ. Earlier this year, in March, Pope Francis announced that Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, would be canonized on September 4 along with several other beati. Mother Teresa is widely regarded as a tireless champion of the dying and the […]
From the Archives
From the Archives · September / October 2021
A Table for All Peoples: From God’s Table to Our Own. The Eucharist and Prophetic Transformation
[This article was originally published in Emmanuel – July/August 2014 issue.] Have you ever wondered from where the items on your kitchen table originally came? The average North American table will have items on it from a league of nations. Today as I sat at table enjoying breakfast, I counted a number of items that […]
From the Archives · July / August 2021
Receiving From the Cup
Receiving from the cup involves a rich symbolism. It combines both the joy of a meal with the risen Lord as well as our entering into the sufferings by which we were redeemed. [This article was originally published in Emmanuel – January/February 2012 issue] In my childhood, way back when processions, novenas, and May altars […]
From the Archives · May / June 2021
Pope Francis Exlpores the Priesthood: Ten Foundational Insights
Pope Francis’ thinking on the priesthood offers a clear and challenging vision for priestly life and ministry today. As a “pope of the people,” Pope Francis connects and interacts well with people across a wide spectrum of ages, backgrounds, social strata, and walks of life. He is noted for a large number of “firsts”: first […]
From the Archives · March / April 2021
Eucharistic Absence
What can we do about the increasing number of people who rarely come to celebrate the Eucharist, who seem to live quite well without it? Can those who deeply appreciate this sacrament make a difference here? In a recent collection of his poetry the Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney included a piece about […]
From the Archives · January / February 2021
Michael Hurley, Ecumenical Pioneer
Irish Jesuit Michael Hurley dedicated his life to healing the divisions among Christians. He challenged the Catholic Church of his day to move beyond fear and to be an active player in the work of restoring church unity. Unity is for mission and for love; lacking unity, the church has nothing to say to a […]
From the Archives · November / December 2020
The Unfinished Agenda: Popular Piety in the Season of Light
What can Christmas teach us about the importance of popular piety in our prayer and liturgical life? Those of us who have any recollection of Roman Catholic worship before Vatican II, remember a prayer pattern filled with devotions, populated by statues, and seasoned with endless sacramentals. As a Catholic grade-schooler I remember the rosaries, the […]
From the Archives · September / October 2020
Seven Ways to Deepen Your Prayer Life
“For the past 15 years I’ve been attempting to figure out how to pray. I’ve searched for every ‘Praying for Dummies’ book published, but have come to learn they aren’t much help. Everyone has suggestions on how to pray, from the great spiritual writers to my grandmother. Ultimately, it’s up to each of us to […]
From the Archives · July / August 2020
Formation for Peace In an Age of Conflict
Brother Gros gave these remarks at the Fuller Conference on Just Peacemaking in 2011. They have been edited for this publication. This article appeared in Emmanuel magazine, May/June 2013 (Vol 119 Issue 3). When I taught high school religion, I would begin my course on Christian social responsibility with a film on the horrors of […]
From the Archives · May / June 2020
Conversion: Turning Toward the World
Conversion, says the author, does not imply a flight from the world, but an ability to embrace it the same way that Jesus did. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. I want to begin with a story. It is the story of a precocious child growing up in a somewhat […]