He likes the term cringe to describe them because of the way it captures the intense awkwardness of some of our efforts as a church to seem hip and relevant.

"Laughing Jesus might as well have a LOL stamped on his forehead and be wearing a YOLO T-shirt, the image is so desperate for us to believe Jesus is fun and relatable. It is a strange paradox: the more human these images try to make Jesus, the less human he seems.' Read more

In fact, devotion to the Blessed Virgin under this title has been common in parts of Germany for centuries.

Recently, however, the world's attention was drawn to it when Vatican Radio revealed that Pope Francis had championed the devotion decades ago in Argentina.

In the 1980s, while doing his doctoral studies in theology in Freiburg, Germany, as a Jesuit priest, Jorge Bergoglio saw a painting in a church in Augsburg entitled ‘Mary Untier of Knots'.

He was so impressed by its stark symbolism that he took postcards of the image back with him to his home province of Argentina.

He used to enclose copies in every letter he sent out.

An Argentinian artist-friend of his made an oil-on-canvas miniature painting of the picture, which was hung in the chapel of Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires where Bergoglio was posted.

The college staff was so attracted by it that they persuaded the local pastor to get a larger copy made. This was displayed in the parish church of San José del Talar, in 1996.

Eventually, devotion to Mary under the title ‘Untier of Knots' spread across Latin America.

Shortly after Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, as Benedict XVI, the then-Cardinal Bergoglio presented the German-born pope with a silver chalice engraved with the image of Mary Untier of Knots along with that of Our Lady of Luján, a popular Marian devotion in Argentina. Continue reading.

Source: Thinking Faith

Image: Miles Jesu

His feast day is commemorated with supermarket meat sales, green rivers, green beer, and (my favourite) parades.

But who was the real St Patrick?

Most people know that the missionary Patrick (Patricius or Pádraig) helped to bring Christianity to Ireland in the 5^th Century. Some may remember how his first visit to the island was as a slave.

Sadly, only a few may remember Patrick's opposition to structural injustice and his prophetic defense of victims of violence and human trafficking.

As with so many of our saints, Patrick's radical application of the Gospel has been domesticated and stripped of its challenging message.

Rather than witnessing to the prophetic and loving call of the God's mission, Patrick has been turned into a caricature to decorate commercial marketing schemes and Hallmark cards. Continue reading.

Kevin Glauber Ahern, PhD is an assistant professor of religious studies at Manhattan College. He served as the President of the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS-Pax Romana) and is Vice-President of the ICMICA-Pax Romana.

Source: Daily Theology

Image: Author's own