Association Of Catholic Bloggers

This is my most recent column in The Catholic Free Press : Our son called the other day to share a lovely story about a former student. Until recently Stephen had been a pre-school teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Although he had neither experience nor background in education, he took the job because he was desperate, having been unemployed for months. Even as he fumbled in the dark with no idea as to what he was doing, Stephen managed to touch the life of a then 3-year-old boy. Surprising encounter Stephen knew well the thankless nature of teaching. So imagine his surprise when the now five-year-old boy recognized him on the street and ran up to him, throwing his arms around him. The family followed up with a phone call and Stephen is planning an outing with them as a result. Give what little we have We never know how we will affect other people’s lives. We think we have to be experts; my son’s experience says otherwise. We don’t need to know anything—we just need to be open and v

I didn't feel ashamed when he said that  atheists can go to heaven . I didn't feel ashamed when he said  gays are okay . But I felt ashamed when Pope Francis said  this : "We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea." Because that's me. Substitute coffee for tea, and I would happily sit and sip a tasty beverage while chatting about theology all day long. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict didn't make me feel ashamed of myself. I could understand most of what they wrote, so I figured that made me pretty smart. I don't remember them ever saying that being smart and knowing theology just wasn't good enough. I don't remember them saying, as Pope Francis did, that we must go out and  touch the poor , touch them with our own hands: Read more by clicking here...