Average Catholic

The Average Catholic Is Reading Fr. James Martin

May 2, 2011

Here are 21 questions with James Martin, SJ, cultural editor of America magazine and author of the bestselling My Life with the Saints and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. (With a tip of the hat to James Lipton, Bernard Pivot, Marcel Proust, and Anne Semmes) Fr. Martin, are you an average Catholic? An average [...]

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An Average Catholic and Interfaith Marriage

April 25, 2011

Cokie Roberts loves being Catholic and loves her husband Steve Roberts, who loves being Jewish. Together they love their children with all their hearts. Cokie and Steve are one of a million interfaith couples in the United States who are building new bridges between love and faith. Being an interfaith family is both a challenge [...]

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The Average Catholic and Holy Week

April 18, 2011

“Jesus came above all to teach us love.” —Pope John Paul II, attributed If I weren’t Catholic, I’d still be drawn to Jesus. Anyone who points to the birds of the air and says to his friends, “Don’t worry. Look at the sparrows. They don’t gather their food into barns. Your heavenly Father takes care [...]

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The Average Catholic and Papal Infallibility

April 11, 2011

The average Catholic does not deny the doctrine of papal infallibility. Neither does she spend time affirming it. She’s mostly interested in spiritual ideas that can help her get through the night without worry and get up with joy to face the day. She is drawn to anyone whose life affirms Jesus’ promise: “Come to [...]

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The Average Catholic and Other Religions

April 4, 2011

The average Catholic is grateful to be Catholic and finds value in other spiritual traditions. He knows that one doesn’t have to explore what is good and beautiful and true in other faith traditions to be a good Catholic. But he also knows that one does not have to be a Catholic to grasp what [...]

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The Average Catholic and Rules

March 28, 2011

When asked, “Why don’t you leave the Church if you disagree with some of its rules?” the average Catholic shrugs and says, “I like it here.” She knows the Church is not a country club. It’s a family. You might kick a child out of a family, but you can never kick the family out [...]

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The Average Catholic and Authority

March 21, 2011

The average Catholic has no problem with authority. In fact, he depends on it. When the New Testament says that “Jesus spoke with authority,” it means that people paid attention to him because what he said made sense, not because he told them he was the Son of God—he never even mentioned it. When he [...]

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The Average Catholic

March 14, 2011

This blog is for the Average Catholic. Is there such a thing? Absolutely. Forget the statistics. Never mind what you read in the papers. Here’s the real skinny. The Average Catholic is young, old, middle-aged, and every color of the human rainbow. She prays the rosary or chants a mantra or doesn’t use words at [...]

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