• In Defense of Religion

  Today, more and more, God and religion are seen as either a naiveté or a compost. For a good number of persons, belief in God and religious practice are seen

  https://ronrolheiser.com/in-defense-of-religion/

• 1996 Will Be A Good Year If

  Bernard Lonergan, one of the great intellectuals of our century, used to speak of something he called differentiated consciousness. For him, that meant a mind that did not think simplistically,

  https://ronrolheiser.com/1996-will-be-a-good-year-if/

• A Human Saint

  On December 3rd, 1995, Pope John Paul II formally declared Eugene de Mazenod, the former bishop of Marseilles, France, a saint of the church. For myself, this was not just

  https://ronrolheiser.com/a-human-saint/

• The Fire that Shimmers Deep Within Things

  “About the best way I can describe the transformation is to say that, now, I see colors!” A man once shared this story with me: He had recently undergone a

  https://ronrolheiser.com/the-fire-that-shimmers-deep-within-things-120495/

• The Christ Movement Downwards

  There is an Aztec poem called, Ultimate Problem. It runs something like this:              In the Aztec design             God is in the little pea                         that is forever rolling

  https://ronrolheiser.com/the-christ-movement-downwards/

• It’s a Lot Easier to Take Care of Ourselves

  There is a story told about St. Vincent de Paul which, while perhaps embellished by myth, needs nonetheless to be told and told and told again for its challenge is

  https://ronrolheiser.com/its-a-lot-easier-to-take-care-of-ourselves/

• A Church Grieves Its Lost Innocence

  One distinguishing characteristic of our church today in the Western world is that we are a grieving church. We live in a certain sadness, somewhere between a death and a

  https://ronrolheiser.com/a-church-grieves-its-lost-innocence/

• The Pharisee And The Publican

  There is an ancient parable about prayer which is also a parable about liturgical prayer. One version of it runs something like this: Two liturgical committees once met to plan

  https://ronrolheiser.com/the-pharisee-and-the-publican/

• Celibacy And Holy Longing

  Celibacy, as it is lived out today within clerical and religious life, has few defenders. More and more persons are suggesting the church should change the rules and no longer

  https://ronrolheiser.com/celibacy-and-holy-longing/

• Social Justice Essential to the Gospel

  Margaret Atwood once suggested that things which are painful and difficult to say should, nonetheless, be permitted the present tense. Painful truth, she submits, should not be washed or cauterized,

  https://ronrolheiser.com/social-justice-essential-to-the-gospel/