Several people have asked for my mother’s Irish Soda Bread recipe. So here it is, in time for the liturgical observance of St. Patrick’s feast day, which is being celebrated tomorrow here in New York because of Holy Week, and the usual feast day, which is March 17, of course. Keep in mind that this bread must be slathered in butter. Not butter substitute, but real, artery-clogging butter. Enjoy! (more…)
I was talking with a priest and a bishop at Public Policy Day in New York’s State Capital yesterday when the subject of the Pew Forum’s recent survey came up. This is the report that shows that the Catholic Church is hemorrhaging members faster than any other religious denomination in this country.
“While those Americans who are unaffiliated with any particular religion have seen the greatest growth in numbers as a result of changes in affiliation, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic,” the report said.
The priest said he thought there were four main reasons that the Catholic Church is losing members in record numbers: subpar religious education since Vatican II; the state of the modern family, specifically the unwillingness of many divorced Catholics to seek annulments; the sex abuse scandal; and the current culture.
At that point, the bishop jumped in and said that, as far as he’s concerned, the culture is by far the greatest influence on what is happening in our Church today. And certainly the Pew survey bears that out, showing that American individualism is now a central tenet of our religious traditions. Americans are used to having things their way, so when someone or something comes along requiring them to live by rules they don’t like, they often jump ship rather than comply. (more…)
Chiara and I were early picking Noah up from play practice at school today. She asked me if we could walk through the church instead of walking around the outside, so we did. In the darkened church, I knelt down next to her and asked if she knew where Jesus was.
She looked up at the crucifix over the altar, looked back at me and said, “Somebody’s sad.” Wow. I don’t think there’s anything else I can write that could possibly say it better than that.
Reminder: Our discussion of the Trinity continues over on the Corner. Join me there by clicking HERE.
Yesterday I was working on some writing jobs, all of them about God and faith and people who have given their lives to living out the Gospel in fairly radical ways. As I was writing, I was thinking about my own prayer life, how here we are in the fifth week of Lent and my plan to pray more — and more often — has pretty much fallen by the wayside, as usual.
I mean, I do the typical talking to God thing throughout my day, thanking him for good things, asking him for other things, always putting in an extra word for my children. But I just cannot get myself to make that leap to the next level, a place where I just sit still and listen to God instead of asking him to listen to me. I’m drawn to that place, but when I get there, I have such trouble figuring out what I’m supposed to do. (more…)
Chiara decided to don a cow costume, angel wings and a Communion veil this morning. Just another typical day at the Poust house.
