Wisdom Wednesday | September 9th

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday

It’s been 25 years. “I covered religion after the 9/11 attacks, said  the publisher of Religion News Service. “ I never imagined the hate would outlast the war.” A second focus now is the invasion by our own federal forces, ICE and Homeland Security. We have faith responses to the hate and the fear. But keep on reading for brotherly advice from Vincent Van Gogh on the search for beauty.

 

25 years ago: September 11, 2001

Deborah Caldwell, publisher of Religion News Service has penned a letter to the RNS community.

Invitation to a webinar: The 9/11 Generation: 25 Years Later

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the attacks’ aftershocks — surveillance, suspicion, identity — still shape how young Muslim Americans see themselves and their country. Now, with Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City’s first Muslim mayor, that history is colliding with a new political moment.

In Texas, ordinary Muslim religious practices are increasingly being treated as political threats. After 9/11, suspicion of Islam hardened into an assumption in Texas that Muslim identity itself signals danger, writes a scholar of constitutional law. From RNS.

Editorial: It’s not enough to remember 9/11. We need to recommit to peace. From National Catholic Reporter.

‘Faith amid fear of ICE’

Two pastors detained, a student dead: Haitians in Ohio turn to faith amid fear of ICE. The two pastors were arrested during a weekend that also brought a death, prayers and vigils for a Haitian community under siege. From RNS.

In Springfield, Ohio, ICE shifts tactics to stealth raids and ankle monitors. Churches are responding by helping Haitian parents line up temporary caregivers, preparing for the worst.

Seven Vermont clergy arrested while protesting ICE. “I think it is imperative on me, as a faith leader, to proclaim that human beings are not targets and that God is a God of justice and of love,’ said the Rev. Rebecca Girrell, a United Methodist pastor who was among those arrested. From RNS.

A Baptist minister is among six jailed for protesting ICE in Missouri. From Baptist News Global.

How violent is ICE? At least 152 federal immigration agents have been charged with or convicted of violent crimes including rape, kidnapping, child molestation and murder at some time in their lives, according to a new report by the Ohio Immigration Alliance. From Baptist News Global.

As Salvadoran Temporary Protective Status deadline nears, Hispanic Pentecostal leaders go to Washington to urge immigration protections. From RNS.

Msgr. Arthur Holquin, a writer on social justice and other issues, describes the ICE and Homeland Security invasion of Minneapolis as “a case study in what happens when a government stops distinguishing between law enforcement and occupation.” Check out his substack, The First Draft of History: On “Anatomy of a Siege.”

 

For the care of creation

Celebrating a new form of the Catholic Mass “for the care of creation,” Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to contemplate nature as well as the ways they have shirked their responsibility to care for it. From National Catholic Reporter.

Stewardship of the earthly garden is the first primary task entrusted to Adam. Barbara Molinari Quinby recalls the words of a speaker from the Vatican for this week’s Justice Bulletin Board. “Caring for our common home is our original vocation; it is the first commandment given to humanity; it is our original job description in the Bible.”

 

Jewish concerns

JD Vance privately addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition during tension over Israel and antisemitism. The Associated Press reports Vance’s remarks took place behind closed doors, which organizers of the Las Vegas conference said was necessary to foster a candid conversation.

“Never in my life have I identified as a Christian,’” Gloria Steinem said, “but wherever there is antisemitism, I identify as a Jew.” Steinem was quoted in an RNS story marking her death.

 

German churches fight the power

The AfD may have political power in Saxony-Anhalt, posing a direct threat to refugees and the German churches that serve them. Inspired by past resistance in East Germany, faith leaders are doing everything they can to stand in the way of the far-right group. From RNS.

 

AI threats and promises

As AI shapes work, US bishops urge safeguards for low-wage and young workers. Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, is calling on U.S. Catholics to foster an economy “that values the God-given dignity of each person.” From National Catholic Reporter.

Catholic colleges and universities are jumping into the quick-moving AI field. From National Catholic Reporter.

Op-ed: When AI Takes Our Jobs, What Will Our Purpose Be? From Black Catholic Messenger. “If AI takes our jobs, will it take our sense of purpose, too?” This Catholic op-ed explores work, vocation and our ultimate purpose in God.

 

Global Sisters Report

Caritas Nepal executive director calls for international aid after the devastating floods and loss of life in Nepal.

 

Vatican report to the UN

Women must lead as ‘artisans of peace’ amid ‘culture of power.’

The Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the U.N. shared its thoughts in a Sept. 2 statement during the global body’s high-level forum on implementing the Program of Action on a Culture of Peace. From National Catholic Reporter.

 

Nature Cure Center

Nazareth sisters promote holistic healing with nature. Visitors to the Nazareth Nature Cure Centre are greeted with the slogan “Returning to Nature is Returning to God.” From National Catholic Reporter.

 

Focus on FOCUS Ministries

Title: ‘The chastity, the emotional chastity, and the unchastity of St. John Henry Newman.’ Writer Chris Damian, at substack, says

“former FOCUS ministries and students shared with me hundreds of stories about their experiences with the ministry, stories of sexual predation, lies . . . , spiritual abuse, and much more. In this multi-part series, I’ll share some of those stories.

 

Young people still seek the spirit, despite scandals

Young worshippers say they hope the church’s troubles — including failed prophecies and pastoral misconduct — will lead to repentance and revival at a prominent Charismatic Christian church. From RNS.

 

OPINION: ‘Sainting Charlie Kirk’

It serves the MAGA movement. It doesn’t serve the girls who believe it. From RNS. One year after Charlie Kirk’s death, former tradwife Tia Levings writes about how sainting serves Christian patriarchy and TPUSA — not the teenage girls drawn into his myth.

 

OPINION: Clergy running for office

Mainline pastors — not ‘pastors in name only’ — are running for office again. RNS reports. For much of the 20th century, the voice of religion on public matters tended to be from mainline Protestant denominations and their leaders, generally in a moderate to liberal direction.

 

OPINION: Vaccinations for Florida Catholic schools

The Catholic Attorney of Florida is challenging Catholic bishops over vaccines. RNS writer Mark Silk say the A.G. “may not like the precedent.” He begins with a look back to New Orleans in 1962.

 

COMMENTARY: Pope Leo Stands Above the ‘Liturgy Wars’

There is a calmness in the Holy Father’s remarks that sends a message to combatants to back away from the liturgical cliff and start thinking more unitively. From the National Catholic Register.

 

Wendell Berry, writer and farmer . . . a modern-day prophet

From RNS. His writings touched on conservation, community and belonging, and he acquired legions of fans beyond environmental studies — including many scholars of religion.

 

A growing Christian men-only fitness movement

Published by RNS. Forge Fitness in Eagle, Idaho, joins a small wave of ‘warrior for Christ’ gyms nationwide. But Boise-area pastors disagree on whether the model builds healthy masculinity or reinforces harmful stereotypes about women.

 

‘The Rock I Stand On’

The National Black Catholic Men’s Conference will hold its annual gathering Oct. 15-18 in Birmingham, Alabama. The theme is ‘The Rock I Stand On’ — referring to the Gospel of Matthew’s parable of the wise and foolish builders, calling attention to the need for firm spiritual foundations in the Black community.

 

Leo XIV celebrates the Nativity of Mary

The pope celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano. “Mary’s Simple Presence — and Her Son Within Her — Moves All of History.” From National Catholic Register.

 

Don’t forget St. John of the Cross

This year, the Catholic Church is celebrating St. Francis of Assisi. There are pilgrimages, celebrations and commemorations marking 800 years since the death of the beloved Franciscan saint. But 2026 is also a jubilee year dedicated to St. John of the Cross, marking 300 years since his canonization and 100 years since he was proclaimed a doctor of the Church. From National Catholic Register.

 

COMMENTARY: A daughter enters the convent

Our Daughter Left Everything to Follow Christ. Then It Was Our Turn to Let Go. From the National Catholic Register. “There is a sacrifice in answering God’s call. This is the unavoidable, personal ‘cost of discipleship.’ It demands putting Jesus before everything else.”

 

Beauty and how to see it

By Zac Koons in the Christian Century: Reading Van Gogh’s letters has helped me uncover a deeper, more textured theological understanding. Van Gogh’s advice to his brother: “Find things beautiful as much as you can, most people find too little beautiful.”