During a rally in 2019, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy party, quoted G K Chesterton. The English writer, theologian and heavily-mustachioed sage seemed an unlikely choice for the climax of an impassioned oration by a tiny, fiery Italian blonde. But maybe not. Chesterton was known as the “Apostle of common sense”. “Fires will Read more
Since retiring from my job, I have found myself afflicted by a mysterious ailment. Here is the main symptom, which my husband and I just had a fight about: He finds me irritating. We had a talk (after fighting), and he is right: I am mothering him. Smothering him. Treating him like he is incapable Read more
When you have children, everyone tells you that your life is going to change. They mean this in both the best and the worst possible ways: There are the predictable losses (lost sleep, lost money, lost time) as well as the wholly unexpected gains of loving a child beyond reason, beyond yourself. What people do Read more
In the next 60 seconds, 28 girls will be married. Another 28 will be married in the minute after that. And then 28 more. And so on. Every year, 15 million children become wives. Young women who are actually still girls — but who already have a husband, and sometimes even a child: It is Read more
Pope Francis has described God as “both father and mother”. In an interview with the magazine Credere, the Pope explained his decision to call a Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Jubilee Year might help the faithful to recognise “the maternal dimension of God”, the Pope observed. He explained that he was speaking of “the tenderness, typical Read more
The first Anglican female bishop to sit in the House of Lords doesn’t like being officially referred to as “right reverend mother”. An initial version of Bishop Rachel Treweek’s writ of summons to be read aloud to the House of Lords referred to her as “right reverend father in God”. Bishop Treweek, from Gloucester, sent Read more
God is like a mother, He loves us unconditionally. However, too often we want to take control of this grace in a kind of a spiritual book-keeping, Pope Francis said during his homily at Mass this morning in the chapel at Casa Santa Marta. “God’s closeness is such that he is presented like a mother, Read more
46. A Church which “goes forth” is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, Read more
In high school, I loved all those little sayings I heard Christians say. You know the ones – When God closes a door, he opens a window. Or Don’t put God in a box! My personal favorite was when one of my friends in my small group went through a break up with a boy, our small group leader Read more
While protesters in Ireland and India rally against the Irish abortion law following the death of a Hindu woman who was refused an abortion, Ireland’s Catholic bishops have affirmed that the Catholic Church “has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother”. The protests Read more