Articles

Russia and Peace

Russia has started a war against Ukraine. China appears to be posturing to attack Taiwan. North Korea is threatening South Korea and the United States with nuclear weapons. Iran is striving to attain nuclear weapons. And there is a war … [Read more...]

Theology of Suffering and the New Evangelization

In August of 2022, Bishop Robert Barron took part in an interview with the actor Shia LaBeouf to discuss his conversion to the Catholic faith. LaBeouf’s conversion was influenced in part by his being cast to portray Padre Pio in a movie by A … [Read more...]

The Ineffability of the Mystical Body of Christ

The Church was established by Christ as an extension and continuation of his incarnation and his mission. Just as a natural body is formed of different organs and systems, each with their own function, so is the Church bound together by a … [Read more...]

Advent and Eschaton

Advent is profoundly eschatological, a reality that grows more apparent as the season reaches its climax. In these days, Holy Mother Church considers Jesus Christ as the Approaching One, who brings into the middle of time not only the … [Read more...]

Toward Evangelization of Creators of the Christian Culture

Saint John Paul II, during his pontificate of nearly twenty-seven years, had two main streams of thought. They can be characterized as the preservation of the Christian heritage and the transformation of contemporary secular culture through … [Read more...]

The Cantus Firmus: The Enduring Melody of Faith

“For me to live is Christ” – Philippians 1:21 “Rely on the Cantus Firmus.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer All of us who have had the privilege of working as a priest in a parish have had to a greater or lesser extent the following pastoral exp … [Read more...]

The Very Stones Would Cry Out

Architecture and Evangelization

In his 1998 work, Architecture in Communion, architect Steven Schloeder offers for consideration a twofold problem: first, the problem of how to design for contemporary, post-Vatican II liturgy, and second, what, if anything, should a … [Read more...]

Contemplation and Beauty: Reclaiming Sensuality for the New Evangelization

“The aesthetic value of creation cannot be overlooked. Our very contact with nature has a deep restorative power; contemplation of its magnificence imparts peace and serenity. The Bible speaks again and again of the goodness and beauty of c … [Read more...]

Give the Young the World of Good Music

“[W]hen modes of music change, the fundamental mores of the state always change with them.” – Plato, Republic, 400b and 424c A few years ago, as preparation for a course in European history, I assigned the students in our high school di Lam … [Read more...]

Is the Universal Call to Holiness a New Teaching?

It is not uncommon to find the opinion that the Church has introduced a new understanding of what it means to be holy and who is called to it through Lumen Gentium’s teaching on the universal call to holiness. Oftentimes, this claim of n … [Read more...]

On Moral Perfection

All humans struggle with moral perfection, and temptations to sin are ever-present. Jesus tells us, “Temptations to sin are sure to come . . .” (Lk 17:1; RSV-CE). Yet Jesus, the Catholic Church, and Sacred Scripture call us to moral per … [Read more...]

Grace and Free Will in Spiritual Growth

In the 2000-year history of theology, some of our greatest thinkers have struggled to define the precise relationship between grace and free will in the lives of individual Christians. Are we free to choose the good? Do we need grace even … [Read more...]

Through My Fault

In the beginning of the Mass in the penitential rite we all say: I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, … [Read more...]

The Work of Catechesis for Priests and Deacons

Foreword by Rev. John P. Cush: “HPR Ressourcement, Part II” As you, as our faithful reader (or even new reader!) might know, this journal, now known as Homiletic and Pastoral Review, was founded over 123 years ago. When I think about the pr … [Read more...]

Healed, Mystic, Teacher: Seminary Spiritual Formation

Go to Part I “Spiritual formation is directed at nourishing and sustaining communion with God . . . This intimate relationship forms the heart of the seminarian in that sacrificial love that marks the beginning of pastoral charity.”[1. Na … [Read more...]