The Deepest Desire Of Our Hearts Is

The Cultural Propaganda Embodied In Two Liquor Advertisements, "living Well Is The Best Revenge" And "sip It With Arrogance," Have A Curious, Perhaps Demonic Appeal. Consumerism Indeed Has Its Own Spirituality.

The Anything-goes Passiveness Of The Religious And Political Left Is Matched By The Preachy Moralism Of The Religious And Political Right. The Person Who Uncritically Embraces Any Party Line Is Guilty Of An Idolatrous Surrender Of Her Core Identity As Abba's Child. Neither Liberal Fairy Dust Nor Conservative Hardball Addresses Our Ragged Human Dignity.

The Kingdom Is Not An Exclusive, Well-trimmed Suburb With Snobbish Rules About Who Can Live There. No, It Is For A Larger, Homelier, Less Self-conscious Caste Of People Who Understand They Are Sinners Because They Have Experienced The Yaw And Pitch Of Moral Struggle.

Grace Abounds In Contemporary Movies, Books, Novels, Films And Music. If God Is Not In The Whirlwind, He May Be In A Woody Allen Film, Or A Bruce Springsteen Concert. Most People Understand Imagery And Symbol Better Than Doctrine And Dogma. Images Touch Hearts And Awaken Imaginations. One Theologian Suggested That Springsteen's 'tunnel Of Love' Album, In Which He Symbolically Sings Of Sin, Death, Despair And Redemption, Is More Important For Catholics Than The Pope's Last Visit When He Spoke Of Morality Only In Doctrinal Propositions.

Christianity Doesn’t Deny The Reality Of Suffering And Evil… Our Hope… Is Not Based On The Idea That We Are Going To Be Free Of Pain And Suffering. Rather, It Is Based On The Conviction That We Will Triumph Over Suffering.