The Formation of Altar Servers for the Current Times

Note: I would like to thank Br. Jonathan Ibarra, M.Id for his insights into this topic. Many dioceses in the United States and around the world are facing a decrease in the number of altar servers and a lack of formation of the altar … [Read more...]

Embodiment and Integral Witness

Pope Francis’ Early Teaching on Catechesis

As a bishop, Jorge Bergoglio communicated profound truth in a simple manner. In words as in deeds he embodied the goal of total identification: “My people are poor and I am one of them” was a plain fact that undergirded his episcopal min … [Read more...]

Resurrecting Catholic Schools

In his unforgettable book Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture, Anthony Esolen, with his typical elegance of prose, articulates the dissipation of American culture along with a clarion call to rebuild it. At a key moment in his … [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...]

Evangelizing Catechesis

As a member of the USCCB’s Committee of Evangelization and Catechesis, we have spent a great deal of time developing a new vision of what we call “Evangelizing Catechesis.” We have defined it as such: At the heart of the Church’s mission to … [Read more...]

Preaching the Heart of the Gospel

Although I grew up in a nominally Catholic home, neither of my parents was particularly religious. We attended Sunday Mass occasionally as a family, but as we got older the demands of family life, sports, and other obligations quickly began … [Read more...]

Stuck in Neutral: When Parish Evangelization (Still) Fails

It has been five years since the four-day United States Convocation of Catholic Leaders on Evangelization was held in Atlanta. It has been nine years since Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, was … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – March 2023

Ponder: Contemplative Bible Study for Year C. By Mahri Leonard-Fleckman. Reviewed by Fr. Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ. (skip to review). Christopher Dawson: A Cultural Mind in the Age of the Great War. By Joseph T. Stuart. Reviewed by Thomas V. … [Read more...]

Pope Benedict XVI Has Found What He’s Been Looking For

In a relatively recent children’s animated movie sequel, “Sing 2” (yes, the sequel to Sing!), the producers succeeded in getting the famous lead singer “Bono” (from the band U2) to be the voice for the main hero of the movie. Bono is voice-o … [Read more...]

Before and After the First Papal Tweet

How Benedict XVI Promoted “Communio” in a World of Social Communications

Originally presented at a conference on “Catholicity as Gift and Task” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Communio, at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry (Rochester, NY) on October 2, 2022. The historic date was 12/12 … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – February 2023

The Church and the Age of Reformations (1350-1650): Martin Luther, the Renaissance, and the Council of Trent. Joseph T. and Barbara A. Stuart. Reviewed by Argene Águila Clasara. (skip to review) Forming Fathers: Seminary Wisdom for Every … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – September 2022

The Light Entrusted to You: Keeping the Flame of Faith Alive. By John R. Wood. Reviewed by Aaron Martin. (skip to review) The Education of a Historian: A Strange and Wonderful Story. By John W. O’Malley. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. ( … [Read more...]

The Universal Call to Evangelization

Nothing Can Disqualify You From This Urgent Mission

As we do our work at Saint Paul Street Evangelization, there are so many different evangelization-related topics to address. What exactly is evangelization? Why do we need to do it? How do we evangelize effectively? What is the Kerygma and … [Read more...]

Forming a Community of Faith

Adult Catechesis in the Cultural Context of Pakistan

Catechesis is the systematic study of the history, nature, goals, principles, and process of deepening of Christian faith and doctrine. Catechesis is concerned with the process of growth in faith, the education of children, young people, … [Read more...]

Finding God in Our Secular Age: Ignatian Insights

Ministry in Our Secular Age Any person who preaches regularly, and who is engaged in pastoral ministry in the Western world, does so under the invisible but all-pervasive influence of our secular age. The secular age is the … [Read more...]