Reflections

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, St. Paul tells us that love is the greatest gift of all, an abiding gift. But what is love? Love is a recognition of the intrinsic dignity and value of another, a desire to sacrifice oneself for the wellbeing of another, a subordination of one’s own self-interest to the interest of…

We’ve all heard that climate change is a hoax. Or that the science is too new. Or that there is no scientific consensus about climate change. Or that while climate change is real, it is part of a natural pattern that is not caused by human activity. Or that the weather in a particular place…

As Food, Garbage, and the Environment notes, about 103 million tons of food, or 40% of all food produced, was wasted in America. This level of waste reflects modern American culture. Our approach to the things around us is purely transactional: If we like them and see value in them, we retain them; if we…

Many of our articles have focused on seemingly non-religious and non-spiritual activities, such as doing the laundry, washing dishes, and reducing water usage. Are these really religious or spiritual topics? Just how do these mundane activities relate to our faith? In his meeting with the clergy of Bolzano-Bressanone in Northern Italy, Pope Emeritus Benedict addressed…

In his encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis identifies a set of personality traits that have contributed to the crisis facing our common home and that prevent meaningful action in responding to it. These include a fanatical anthropocentrism, which views humankind as the “owner” of God’s creation to do with as we see fit; a focus…

Typically, we view the condemnation of idolatry simply as a rule mandated by the first commandment (in Exodus 20:3-6 and Deuteronomy 5:7-10). We may even go beyond the first commandment as a rule to understand that God rejects idolatry because He is a jealous god (Exodus 34:14), though what this means can be problematic given our tendency, noted by…

We often encounter the argument that there is no consensus among scientists that climate change is occurring, much less that it is caused by human activity. We even sometimes encounter the argument that global warming is a hoax. This line of attack follows a familiar pattern that emerged in response to the polio vaccine in…

Perhaps more than at any other time in American history, science and scientific knowledge are under attack, with much of the opposition to science coming from Christians. Typically, this hostility to science stems from its rejection of supposed Biblical truths (e.g., evolution versus creationism) or because it supposedly promotes politically motivated hoaxes (e.g., climate change). …

In the first of the two creation stories in Genesis (Genesis 1:1-2:3), God gives man dominion over his creation (Genesis 1:26,28). For many people of faith, these verses have justified a mastery-over-nature orientation: dominion is seen as the right to dominate and to possess absolute control over the entire earth. We get an inkling that…

We live in a culture in which human relationships are breaking down and selfishness has become a virtue. As one of the actions that helps us change the way that we relate to the world around us, Pope Francis urges us to say grace before meals. Saying grace can help us to reorient our thinking…