Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 226

Feedback Please

One of the tabs at the top of the blog is for my Archived Articles. I have posted a number of my articles written for other periodicals, websites and papers. Does anyone use this facility? Would you like me to expand it? How could it be made easier for you to use? Feedback to the [...]

A Poem for Pentecost

Poem for Pentecost The boy kneels as the Father prods the coals that glower in the thurible. The gray ash sticks, then crumbles, shifts and falls away. The embers surge orange before the granules, like tiny jewels, are spooned onto the fire. It is a simple ritual—almost quaint– done with ancient courtesy and restraint. In [...]

Pentecost – Wind, Fire and Witness

Remembering that the New Testament is hidden in the old and the old is made manifest in the New, yesterday’s feast provides three powerful images from the past that converge at Pentecost: Wind, Fire and Witness. The mighty rushing wind connects back to the first day of creation where in the first verses of the [...]

Help! My Children Aren’t Catholic Anymore!

I’m in Indianapolis Indiana leading a parish mission this week, and in the meet and greet session afterwards, the most common conversation I have is with middle aged women who say, “Father, what can I do, my children have stopped practicing the faith!” or  they tell me how their children have married Mormons or Methodists [...]

What’s Killing American Catholicism – 4

Cut Off Catholicism vs. Continuous Catholicism In the midst of composing this series on what’s killing American Catholicism I am not only reading George Weigel’s Evangelical Catholicism and Sherrie Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples  but on the flight out to Indianapolis read Russell Shaw’s American Church — The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America.  [...]

Scott Hahn’s Consuming the Word

Here’s a book review by guest blogger and catechist Christian LeBlanc. Christian is author of The Bible Tells Me So–a charming and enlightening book to help catechists communicate the faith using the Bible stories. He blogs at Smaller Manhattans. Americans of course remember that we won our War of Independence at Yorktown in 1781, ending a long [...]

Catholicism – Ever Ancient Ever New

I have been very busy in my life as a parish priest the past week and not had time to blog very much. There has been nothing dramatic, but the usual mixture of celebrating the sacraments, administering a growing and busy parish and school, ministering and trying to find more time to spend with people. [...]

Blogged Out

Is anybody still out there? I realize I haven’t blogged for over a week. Sort of exhausted by radio show, newsletter, blog, Twitter, FB and all the other communications. Is there a name for this? Media Exhaustion? I expect my muses will kick back in before too long, but I hope readers will be patient [...]

If I Only Had a Heart – Educating the Emotions

Here is my latest article for Intercollegiate Review Online — How to educate the emotions, and distinguishing emotion from sentimentality and passion…

Strange Notions

Yay!  Brandon Vogt has started a new website to encourage dialogue with atheists. Better him than me! Most of the atheists who troll through blogs and website are (how shall I put this nicely) a pain in the posterior. Strange Notions is a place for real dialogue to take place, and let’s hope that the [...]