Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of San Juan, Puerto Rico has announced that next week's Mass celebrating the patronal feast of the island, the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist, will be celebrated for the repose of the souls of those killed in Orlando and for the consolation of their friends and loved ones. This is a beautiful gesture of solidarity.
At First Things, Matthew Schmitz has a short essay that needs to be long. There are flashes, intimations of genius, but he is painting in too broad strokes. Still, he is saying something very interesting about the temptations of normalcy.
The other day, the Holy Father preached on the need to pray for our enemies. Of course, the Holy Father's entire life has been shaped by prayer and Ignatian discernment. On the other hand, my life has been shaped by margaritas and American Spirits, so while I recognize the truth of what the pope said, and try to do it as best I can, I also confess I really like this updating of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic:
