Echoes - A forum of Catholic thought. The Opinion section of thebostonpilot.com

December 3, 2021Faith

Today's Psalm paints a dreamlike scene -- a road filled with liberated captives heading home to Zion (Jerusalem), mouths filled with laughter, tongues rejoicing. It's a glorious picture from Israel's ...

Culture & Events

Oscar Madison, a fictitious throwbackDick Flavin

Do you remember Oscar Madison? Sure you do. He was a well-known sportswriter from half a century ago. A real old school type. Kind of slovenly in appearance. Famously hosted a weekly card game for his ...

Culture & Events

Challenges of ministering to the far-flung parishes of the Diocese of BostonThomas Lester

A letter in the Bishop Benedict Fenwick papers, written by Father James Strain from Hartford, Connecticut, on Dec. 16, 1840, continues an ongoing discussion about how best to serve Catholics in the western ...

Culture & Events

A message of hope, even with OmicronThomas Heyne and Deacon Tim Flanigan

As we've started a new Liturgical Year, it seems we've also begun a new phase in the COVID-19 pandemic. By now, we've all heard the news of the Omicron variant, first identified by dutiful health professionals ...

Spirituality

Entering the mind of protestersFather Eugene Hemrick

As I am writing this, the sound of protesters at the Supreme Court, outside the Senate buildings and in front of Sen. Mitch McConnell's house is filling the air outside my apartment. The loud shouting, ...

Faith & Family

Give the gift of hope to the missionsMaureen Crowley Heil

As Catholics, our faith tells us that Advent is a season of preparation. It's a time to begin anew, to ready ourselves for the presence of the Christ Child in our hearts. Our culture, however, pulls us ...

Culture & Events

New cures from embryonic stem cells?Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk

A recent article in the New York Times by Gina Kolata chronicles the remarkable story of a patient who for many years suffered from type 1 diabetes. After receiving a newly-developed form of embryonic ...

Culture & Events

Three comings of Christ prepare us for AdventBishop Robert Barron

Many years ago, in the context of a high school religion class, a very wise Benedictine nun gave me a template for understanding Advent that I've never forgotten. It is simply that Advent calls to mind ...

Culture & Events

A fair shake for parental choice?Russell Shaw

Four years ago, in a case from Missouri, a majority of justices of the Supreme Court agreed that a Lutheran church that operated a day school was entitled to funding from a state program for upgrading ...