 CatholicAnchor.org By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
On Feb. 13, millions of Christians heard those oddly inspiring words from the Ash Wednesday service: “From dust you have come, to dust you shall return.” And with that a black ashen cross was traced across their forehead.
This is not meant to insult or denigrate. Rather, these words point to the origin and ultimate destination of humanity.
For sure, the grains of time are irretrievably slipping through the hourglass of our lives. But by the conclusion of this dusty road, we are to have become like God. This is the divine plan, reiterated throughout the pages of Sacred Scripture. Our lives are not pointless or random. We were not made for idle entertainment or medicated boredom. We are on a journey; It is eternal and it begins here. more…
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 CNS photo By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
The Catholic Anchor regularly publishes articles and columns that address the grave problem of abortion. The intent is not to berate or condemn or overly focus on perhaps the most divisive issue in our country. Rather, the goal is to shed some light on a public debate that is often more propaganda and rhetorical sleight of hand than honest discussion aimed at uncovering the truth. more…
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 image from CNS By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
Aside from the journeying Holy Family, a packed inn, the manger-scene birth, angels on high and scared and amazed shepherds, what is the story of Christmas? What does it mean? Why does it matter?
To be sure a growing number believe that the lights, carols, family gatherings, gift exchanges and Santa mythologies are the reasons for why Christmas matters. But these are merely the popular traditions by which we celebrate something more fundamental. Much like birthday parties are the traditions by which we celebrate the birth and life of our friends and family members. To confuse the frosting for the friend is to miss the point.
So what is the core of Christmas … The Baby Jesus? Yes, but the Baby Jesus is more than a cute infant peeking out from behind swaddling clothes. Baby Jesus reveals to us something earth shattering about ourselves as human beings: God is one of us and we can tread his path and become like him. more…
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 . By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
Since the 1930s, when birth control became more widely accepted and accessible, family size in the developed world has dropped dramatically. Europe is in the midst of a well-documented fertility freefall and the U.S. birth rate has plummeted to its lowest point in 25 years — 2 births per woman. That number is expected to continue to decline in coming years.
So why are couples choosing to have fewer children — or none at all?
Some have pointed to the sluggish economy and that, no doubt, has played a role. But we are on a 25-year fertility slump that spans the economic boom of the mid-1990s. Money woes alone don’t explain the shrinking family. more…
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 CNS photo By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
A certain percentage of Americans will vote today come what may. They monitor political polls, organize their week around presidential debates and exhibit a deep concern about the outcome of local and national races.
All told, in the last presidential election a hearty 62 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. The fact remains, however, that nearly 40 percent of U.S. voters didn’t bother to participate in choosing senators, congressional candidates or the president.
Their reasons vary, from voter apathy or cynicism to lack of transportation to the polls and confusion about the candidates or their positions. more…
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 CNS photo By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
On Oct. 11, the Catholic Church launches its “Year of Faith.” To some this may seem akin to the Department of Education launching a “Year of Learning” — just about anything would fit.
But the church isn’t interested in vague affirmations of faith. Earlier this year the Vatican laid out what the pope had in mind in a letter from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
The chief concern was to recover the “gift of faith,” which is not a philosophy or system of theology but an “encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” more…
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By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
It’s a familiar and touching image: a newborn baby, dressed in white with mom or dad cradling the little bundle over the baptismal font. The priest trickles holy water over the fuzzy head — “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
On that day the little one begins the Christian walk. Beaming parents, Godparents and relatives gather around the newly christened. Fellow parishioners clap and life goes on.
Fifteen, twenty years later the scene is very different for many. more…
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 Screen capture image from anchoragemuseum.org By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
From rodeos and magic shows to carnival rides and animal auctions, strange and delightful things occur at the Alaska State Fair. This year, however, something is amiss.
The upcoming annual event, extremely popular with families and children, has agreed to show an exhibit of flayed and preserved human corpses. This traveling show is produced by a company called Studio 2 Promotions and consists of dead human bodies, stripped of their skin and manipulated into athletic and entertaining poses for all ages to view.
A similar exhibit will show at the Anchorage Museum later this fall and winter called Body Worlds, produced by a separate company. more…
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By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
Like it or not American public policy sways with the gusts and swirls of unparalleled political winds.
The fact that U.S. politics are in a constant state of revision grabbed the attention of a young Frenchman 181 years ago. Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the still relatively new United States of America in 1831. He aimed to study our young country and glean insights as to how France might adapt to the emerging democratic forces that had the Old World political landscape in a state of upheaval. Tocqueville noted that Americans held politicians accountable in ways no other country ever had. He admired how we divided the powers of government into three branches and then required that the president and each member of the House of Representatives — wage a reelection campaign every few years to guarantee that they are always beholden to the will of the people. No elected official could ever veer too far from those they represented without soon paying the piper. more…
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 CNS photo EDITORIAL
By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
There are encouraging signs regarding the future of the priesthood in the Anchorage Archdiocese. One young man, Robert Whitney, has returned from his first year of seminary training with growing zeal for his calling and a passion to encourage other men who may feel called to serve Christ and his church as ordained priests.
Also this month seminarian Patrick Brosamer became a transitional deacon, embarking on the final year before being ordained a new priest for the Anchorage Archdiocese. more…
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