Reading as an Act of Homage

Can reading be considered as “an act of homage”? At first blush, this seems a strange question. We regularly read for the sake of leisure and learning, but aside from overtly religious pursuits — such as Lectio Divina, proclamation of the Wo … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – July 2023

In the School of the Word: Biblical Interpretation from the New to the Old Testament. By Carlos Granados and Luis Sánchez-Navarro. Reviewed by Sr. Mary Micaela Hoffmann, RSM. (skip to review) Jesus Becoming Jesus (Volume 3): A T … [Read more...]

Book Reviews — September 2020

U.S.-Vatican Relations, 1975-1980: A Diplomatic Study. By P. Peter Sarros. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) A Man, a Mission, a Miracle: Brother James Gaffney, F.S.C., and the Transformation of Lewis University. By … [Read more...]

What a Catholic Education Owes Its Students

As our students—big and small—begin to return to school, it is good to be reminded of what a truly Catholic education owes its students. For most of human history, education was a private affair between (usually) a young boy and his tutor. I … [Read more...]

“Go Gaily in the Dark”

Alfred the Great and Preservation of Christian Civilization

Epigraph From G.K. Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse (words spoken by Mary, the Mother of God, to a sadly dispirited Alfred the Great): The men of the East may spell the stars, And times and triumphs mark. But the men signed o … [Read more...]

On the Gift of Laughter

One of the oldest jokes for which we have evidence goes something like this: A slave owner returns to the man who had just sold him his most recent purchase. “That slave you sold me last week just died.” The man who sold him replied: “Hey, … [Read more...]

The Side Effects of the Pill: Why the Church Has So Much to Say about Contraception

The Church pays special attention to the issue of contraception ... because so many of the modern errors in moral theology converge in this particular question of conjugal morality. There is an impression out there–in the world and even w … [Read more...]

A Postmodern Christianity?

The instantiation of postmodern preferences has had varying effects on ecclesial communities, and has even given rise to new religious groups. Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong,  "Tower of Babel" painting, Italian philosopher G … [Read more...]

“Read Your Thomas”: The Advice We Should Heed

Aquinas was the model philosopher for Ralph McInerny, and following the likes of 20th century Thomists such as Maritain, Gilson, Fabro, and DeKonick, he wanted the world (and the Church) to see the necessity of this man and his … [Read more...]

The Value of Philosophy

True philosophy throws light on all other forms of knowledge, revealing their relation to each other...with philosophy underpinning them all. Especially does it help in the study of sacred theology, the supreme science based on God’s s … [Read more...]

St. Thomas and Chesterton on law, human and divine

Both St. Thomas and Chesterton were aware that human laws do not always conform to the natural and eternal laws.

It was not Zeus who gave the order, And Justice living with the dead below Has never given men a law like this. Nor did I think that your pronouncements were So powerful that mere man could override The unwritten and unfailing laws of … [Read more...]

Chesterton the Metaphysician

COMMON SENSE 101: LESSONS FROM G. K. CHESTERTON. By Dale Ahlquist (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO, 80522, 2006), 316 pp. PB. $16.95.

If G. K. Chesterton had lived 75 years later, would he have been a radio talk-show host? He certainly had the personality and wit and love of verbal jousting. In his day (the first third of the twentieth century) he was, in fact, a popular … [Read more...]