Questions Answered for December 2019

What Are Cardinals? Question: There has been a lot of controversy in the Church in the last year about how Theodore McCarrick could have risen to the rank of cardinal. What is the function of the College of Cardinals? Answer: Though … [Read more...]

The “Female Diaconate” after the Amazon Synod

The Mystery of Human Sexuality in the Woman at the Well and the Vital Sacrament of Apostolic Succession

In light of the recent Amazon Synod, the question of the female diaconate has once again been raised. It is more than obvious that novelty and change are today’s signs of progress. In the twentieth century, for example, scientific a … [Read more...]

A God with Skin

Recapturing the Incarnational Nature of the Sacraments

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) Since her beginning, the Catholic Church has been an incarnational institution, a B … [Read more...]

Late Autumn Book Reviews

All the Pope's Saints: The Jesuits Who Shaped Pope Francis, by Fr. Sean Salai, SJ (Our Sunday Visitor, 2017) 144 pages; $15.00. Reviewed by Deacon David Paternostro, S.J. How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard, by Aurora Griffin (Ignatius … [Read more...]

Encountering Christ’s Love in the Sacraments

In every way, the sacraments are about God’s love, fully revealed in Jesus Christ. In them, Jesus makes Himself present as the one who loves us “to the end” (Jn 13:1). In each Sacrament, He says: “I love you; I have given my life for you (Jn … [Read more...]

On the Ordination of Women and the Priesthood of Christ

In the past half century, discussion about women priests in the Christian Churches has intensified. Most Churches, in particular, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, have held firm to the traditional view that only males … [Read more...]

“The Indelible Mark”

Sacramental Character in Patristic and Scholastic Theology

The history of the development of doctrine is, in many ways, a history of language. It is a story of the perpetual struggle to adequately communicate the divine realities in human words, or at the very least, to attempt to do so without … [Read more...]

Honoring the Priesthood in June

To those enjoying the memories, blessed anniversary! To those still relishing your freshly-chrismed hands, congratulations! As June is upon us, we at HPR would like to thank all of you who are celebrating your priestly ordinations … [Read more...]

Pastoral Authority and Spiritual Warfare

In sharing in the priesthood of Christ, the pastor upholds his own fatherhood (governing), receives his teaching authority, and can uphold his own ministry of healing and holiness (sanctifying).

“Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the p … [Read more...]