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… country against which we rebelled in 1776. Couldn’t we have just paid the tax on the tea and kept Westminster Abbey as a focal point for such rituals? Alas, thank God we had the latest … to his own inaugural address. Four years ago, Sen. Diane Feinstein was much more brief and kept the focus on the principals not herself. The opening prayer was entrusted to a laywoman and … had no right to require it. That bit of casuistry struck English Protestants as unmanly at best and deceitful at worst, and so this clause was added to British oaths and, subsequently, to …

… family planning in the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., called that method of spacing births the "best-kept secret for a good marriage." That method of birth control treats intimacy as a sacred act …

… war and is on schedule to end our involvement in a second, and his much maligned stimulus bill kept the economy from tanking in early 2009. Mr. Obama, however, made one enormous mistake in his … ago, I began with a quote from Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s “The Age of Jackson” that, to my mind, best captures the historic vocation of the Democratic Party. “American democracy has come to …

… especially the theologians, is the highest we have ever seen. We fear that we are losing our best Catholic thinkers. This would be a shameful waste that ultimately will harm us all. But … the man was a minister, when he was incarcerated and Sullivan was visiting his jail. They kept in touch after the man's release and as he began his new life. Sullivan was a noted …

… friend is a sturdy shelter" ( Sirach 6:14 ). It would have been inhuman not to mention Harry's best friend and companion. The fourth story was about a lesbian couple in our parish. Their … knew one woman. Her partner had died more than a decade before I arrived. But the survivor kept the memory of her friend alive and maintained her friend's grave in the local Methodist … I said, "Yes, I think even Methodists can go to heaven." Finally, I told them about one of my best friends, a Presbyterian minister named Jack. He had been a pastor, a civil rights leader and …

… themselves and the locked door to the creation spirituality program flew open to herald the best, most creative 18 months of my life. Sharratt's beautiful novel begins speaking of hope, the … as the tithe to be given to God. A secondary reason for her banishment was because the child kept having embarrassing visions, one being her ability at age 4 to see the unborn calf in the …

… he had been serving Afghan refugees in Pakistan, moved into Afghanistan, and decided the best way to promote health in Afghanistan was to teach peace and nonviolence. Sixteen … the duvet the women's cooperative made -- 5 inches thick, much warmer than a down comforter -- kept me surprisingly warm. "We know we will never live to see the results of our work for peace … is very bad, and the few private schools are way too expensive for most people. The best way to help us is to help build a better education system. ... It's very difficult for us to …

… but so close to where we live. Though Kavanaugh's prophetic denunciations drew me in, what kept me coming back was something I wasn't initially looking for: his joyful embrace of human … We are not God, but we are good. Though we try to run from this vulnerability, Kavanaugh kept gently urging his listeners to accept it, and then to enter more fully into the personal … spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in his hands. One of Kavanaugh's best students, the photojournalist Mev Puleo, whose photos complement his reflections in Faces of …

… disenfranchised church people and minimally churched saints and sinners in our midst. Then I kept hearing my friend's words in relation to the critical Catholic social teaching theme of life … I dreamt of a world where reconciliation became a way of life, as breathing is in our best interest. And then emerges the Rose, or the pink candle in our traditional understanding of …

… enormous trees away with the back of a hand. Of course, in ways that mattered, chaos was kept at a distance, despite impatience, frayed nerves and real frustrations. A close friend who … "folding blankets or handing out sandwiches." Dolan wrote on his blog: Sandy "brought out the best in New York ... And once again, we confirmed what's most important to us: life itself, …

… agenda for his second term, he would do well to look at ways infrastructure spending can be kept distinct from the rest of the federal budget, how it can exemplify federalism in action, … vitality and beauty to the public spaces, in short, a great city. And, of course, it hosts the best Catholic newspaper in the country!       …

… Ecclesiastically speaking, there are also well-known side effects of hierarchy. Perhaps the best known is clericalism, immortalized in the indictment from the 19th century French political … Horace Mann School that this breach of trust had been going on for years and that it had been kept secret by those in power who had also protected the sexual abusers among the teachers -- the …

… what was in place, I said yes and spent the summer at Mount Saviour Monastery .  It was the best summer of my life. The monks were beautiful people in the real sense of the word: giving, … love) play out in a place where many people have nothing at all. In a lot of ways, it was the best job I ever had. I had three of the four friends who helped me on "The Everyday" working on … Truthfully, I don't know. I have kept a journal for more than 20 years, and I always imagine that when I write in it that I am …

… the prism of Muslim/Christian conflict gets things wrong. There are no easy answers about how best to defend Christians at risk, and just about every time you think you've got one, somebody … creating a culture in the church -- a bit like the old prayer for the "conversion of Russia" kept the cause of the persecuted church behind the Iron Curtain alive. Direct humanitarian … to propose their faith." Similarly, Criveller said there's "no easy answer" as to the best way to help the church in China. He described two broad schools of thought: The "party of …

… up the idea of women deacons. Tkachuk reminded the members of this group that the church has kept the idea of women deacons as an open question. By the spring of 2011, one subgroup worked on … parishioners have done the work to inform themselves, to understand the issue and to study how best to pursue a conversation. "Hopefully, those who see us as rebel-rousing [will] see that we …

… and the party a lesson, that they needed the Southern Democrats. Truman stuck to his guns, kept the robust civil rights plank in the Democratic platform and, in the event, did not need the … Midwest, but what about in Texas, which is getting purple to begin with and purple seems the best color for a Catholic who is committed to all the Church’s teachings! Why not encourage …

… native France and to the Ursuline Generalate in Rome. Her superior changed, but Mahoney kept digging. After 13 years her pamphlet had grown to a 600-page manuscript. “In my superb … 90s, Mahoney has endured two spinal operations, developed macular degeneration and buried her best friend. But she has also published three books. Besides China Dreams, there are her …

… factor with 80 mph winds fanning the flames." My local parish, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, kept the church and the hall open for those forced to evacuate. The parish was notified by the … to a higher spot in the home. "Let's be very clear; if your house is surrounded by water, your best and safest option at this time is to remain in that house and move to a higher level of the …

… I made the usual objection: "Won't he just spend it on drink?" Lewis answered, "Yes, but if I kept it, so would I." Tolkien, who loved Lewis, found fame more difficult; indeed, it drove him … replied that I did, "both with storge [familial affection] and philia [friendship]." I did my best to answer his questions, thinking all the time how alike these two men were. At the end, the …

… In a September Pew poll, Obama was leading Romney by 54 percent to 39 percent among Catholics, besting his 2008 showing. Polling also shows that Catholics' concerns regarding the issues track … polls have not moved hugely, and Obama's strong comeback performance in the second debate have kept them steady. Obama continues to lead in Ohio, but his margin has shrunk and the … blog on the NCR website, at NCRonline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic, first place finisher for Best Individual Blog in the 2012 the Catholic Press Association competition.] …