Flashes
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Seeking. Skepticism. Sanctuary.
Moses Mendelssohn observed that we can never fully know another person’s interior beliefs – and often can’t be certain of our own. The article draws on that insight to ask how parishes can make space for faith at every stage of certainty and doubt.
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It took three times in a darkened theatre
Something about Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg wouldn’t release its grip. I returned twice more, each viewing peeling back another layer of certainty about justice, morality, and the convenient distance we imagine separates us from history’s villains. By the third screening, I understood my discomfort completely.
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Selfless living lights darkness
Real change begins close to home. Radical forgiveness and generosity are not weakness — rather they are the very thing that turns ordinary lives into lights, lights don’t just illuminate a room but rather lead the way out of the darkness entirely.
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Discipleship not a checklist
Authentic, relatable, responsible — these are not soft words. They describe a Christianity that is visible in how we treat people, spend money, use power, and show up for those who need us. Not someday. Now.
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Being counter-cultural or just being awkward
From the women’s movement to immigrant rights, faith often finds itself at odds with society in ways that require ensuring these tensions are rooted in justice rather than fear of social change.
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Plurality — the West’s greatest and most forgotten achievement
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Mozart and Beethoven as pillars of Western culture, and rightly so. But the thinkers who may matter more today are Locke, Jefferson, and Madison — the architects of a West defined not by sameness but by the right to differ.
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The forbidden tree and a troubling picture of God
Placing a forbidden tree in a garden created out of love raises hard questions about the nature of God. Read literally, the Genesis story portrays the Divine as setting a trap, then punishing all humanity when the trap is sprung.
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From TikTok to the baptism font
Faith communities are engaging digital culture rather than retreating from it. Conversion stories on YouTube and TikTok, alongside a growing Vatican online presence, are sparking real curiosity that leads people from screens to parishes and into sacramental preparation.
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Synodal crossroads – from vision to action
Talk is no longer enough to sustain the faithful. To remain credible, the Church must implement short-term, tangible changes. Without a shift toward inclusive decision-making and transparency, the synodal process risks becoming a hollow exercise rather than a true spiritual renewal.
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Rethinking peace while facing modern signs of war
Global military spending reached record highs as autonomous weaponry and AI changed the face of combat. These technologies erase moral responsibility. This is why modern advancements demand a re-evaluation of peace and a move away from tools that experts describe as small, cheap, and abundant.
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