This Catholic Life

French poet Leon Bloy once wrote, “The only real sadness in life is not to become a saint.”

The midterm report on the deliberations of the Synod on the Family has appeared and there is a fair amount of hysteria all around. John Thavis, a veteran Vatican reporter who should know better, has declared this statement “an earthquake, the big one that hit after months of smaller tremors.” Certain commentators on the right have been wringing their hands and bewailing a deep betrayal of the Church’s teaching. One even opined that this report is the “silliest document ever issued by the Catholic Church,” and some have said that the interim document flaunts the teaching of St. John Paul II. Meanwhile the New York Times confidently announced that the Church has moved from “condemnation of unconventional family situations and toward understanding, openness, and mercy.” I think everyone should take a deep breath.

What makes the society in “The Giver” most like contemporary Europe is the forgetfulness of Christianity. The source of the greatest suffering throughout human history is the attempt to deal with original sin on our own.

The recent death of actor Robin Williams has drawn attention to the tragedy of mental illness and suicide, but I fear that as weeks pass, it is slipping quietly from our consciousness.

While it’s hard to say goodbye to my family’s more relaxed summertime state of being, I love the implicit promise of the new school year. It’s a reminder that there are always fresh beginnings in life, that we don’t have to stay fixed in one place.

I had a glimpse into the matriarchs of salvation’s history that I had never had. They had no reason to believe they would ever hear their own child’s first cry — except a faint hope that remained in the deepest, most hidden part of their hearts.

In the work of upholding human dignity, the response of the Bethlehem Academy community gave new meaning to a phrase often used in the pro-life community: “dying with dignity.”

The Supreme Court is involved in two types of issues related to claims by employers who say they should not have to provide coverage of contraceptives in their workers’ health insurance plans because it violates the employers’ faith-based moral objections.