Jeanie Hannaman

By Msgr. Charles Pope - One of the more difficult biblical concepts to understand is that of God hardening the hearts and minds of certain people. The most memorable case is that of Pharaoh: before sending Moses to him, God said that He would “harden Pharaoh’s heart” (Ex 4:21). And there are other instances in which biblical texts speak of God hardening the hearts of sinners, even from among his own people... What are we to make of texts like these, which explicitly or implicitly speak of God hardening the hearts of people? How can God, who does no evil, be the source of a sinful mind or a hard heart?

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture - The Book of Proverbs is dull reading at times, since its proverbial statements are often repetitive. At other times, a colorful maxim may strike the reader very forcefully, making it an effective life-lesson. But there is a wry humor in this book as well, though it may often go unrecognized amidst the flow of platitudes. So imagine my delight when I came across this passage in chapter 23 (verses 29-35): ....

By Regis Martin, Crisis Magazine - Week after week.. (we) dutifully finding the nearest pew where, for the space of an hour or so, we stand, sit, or kneel alongside hundreds of other similarly situated members of Christ’s Body... But what is it that we think we’re doing there?... Are we aware that during the brief time we spend filling that space, we’ve actually taken leave of this world, entering upon another world far beyond the parking lot? That we’ve been swept utterly away from the workaday world we know, summoned across the threshold of time and space, in order that we may be ushered into the very presence of God Himself?