City Council agrees to remove image of chapel from new logo. UPDATE: August 3, 2012 – According to Steubenville City Manager Cathy Davison, the mayor, City Council, and administration are reviewing all options regarding the city logo. At this point, no lawsuit has been filed against the City of Steubenville. Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance […]
The Curious Case of the Cursing Catholic Coach
How should Catholics respond when other Catholics publicly misrepresent the Church? That’s really the fundamental question. It has been before American Catholics ever since September 12, 1960 when John F. Kennedy, in a televised speech in Houston, essentially disavowed the influence of the Catholic faith on his political choices. With regard to politicians, U.S. bishops […]
An Open Letter to my Parish: Why I am Discerning the Diaconate
This letter appears in the June 19 & 26, 2011 bulletin of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, IA. My name is Joel Schmidt, and Fr. Hoefler asked me to write this column to introduce myself to you. Why? Because I am a parishioner here at St. Francis of Assisi and, […]
Love is Greater than Fear
And they waited. And we waited. And we are rewarded. We are rewarded by a love that conquers our fears, a love that achieves our hopes, a love given to us by His grace because we believe. And all because one man, Jesus, had a love for us greater than the fear of suffering; a […]
The Holy Paradox
November 21, 2010: The Solemnity of Christ the King Jesus is a shock to the senses. One doesn’t have to read the gospels long to find Him challenging existing authorities, breaking social norms, and generally turning convention upside down. The last shall be first; one must lose his life to save it; etc. This past […]
The Battle of the Senses
When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, […]