The Effects of Globalization in the Ivory Coast

A Part-time Missionary’s Impression

In his address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in 2001, John Paul II described globalization as follows: “The globalization of commerce is a complex and rapidly evolving phenomenon. Its prime characteristic is the increasing … [Read more...]

Finding Christ in the Beggar, Finding Christ in the Chalice

If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice. – St. John Chrysostom.[1. Attributed to St. John Chrysostom, this may be a short paraphrase of Homily 50.4 on the Gospel of Matthew.] The m … [Read more...]

Book Reviews for Late Autumn 2018

The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order By Scott Hahn. Reviewed by Matthew Rose. (skip to review) In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk’s Memoir By Paul Quenon. Reviewed by Matthew K. M … [Read more...]

To Give Up One’s Cloak

When St. Martin of Tours encountered a poor, naked beggar, he tore his own warm cloak in half, to share it. Later, he discovered in a dream that the beggar was Christ. The story of St. Martin and the beggar provides a key to an area of … [Read more...]

Credible Communion: The Witness of Apostolic Religious Life

When the Church has been humiliated and vilified by public scandal ... I suggest we need to shift our focus to Christ.   Introduction “How can you write anything credible about the witness of religious life today?” I was asked by a disil … [Read more...]

The Dark Side of Voluntary Poverty?

THE POVERTY OF RICHES: ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI RECONSIDERED. By Kenneth Baxter Wolf (Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016, 2003), 208 pp. HB $45.00.

The emergence of a commercial economy in the High Middle Ages created new spiritual challenges for many medieval Christians, who wondered how to reconcile Christ’s instructions to the rich man in the gospel with the emerging profit economy. … [Read more...]