Celibacy as an Asset in Ministering to Married Persons

Celibacy for the Kingdom of God might seem like an obstacle in relating to the struggles of married people, including but not limited to spousal conflicts, balancing home and work duties, managing multiple children, and dealing with in-laws … [Read more...]

A Conversation about Cancel Culture

Over Thanksgiving break, a friend of mine asked me, “What is meant by the phrase cancel culture?” I thought the best way to get at the answer was to ask him a question of my own, “What does it mean to talk about culture?” That simple questio … [Read more...]

Integral Ecology of Man

The Theological Mind of Laudato Si’

The crisis in the family has produced a crisis of human ecology, for social environments, like natural environments, need protection. And although the human race has come to understand the need to address conditions that menace our natural … [Read more...]

Peter, Mary, and the Cross

An Examination of the Ecclesiology of Von Balthasar’s Dialectic

Hans Urs von Balthasar has proposed that a dialectic, or “reciprocal relationship,” exists between the objective and subjective holiness of the Church—represented by the persons of Peter and Mary—which he associates with its institutional an … [Read more...]

Witness “Begets” Witnesses

Introduction[1. The “witness” section of this paper (Part III) was given verbally to visiting seminarians from Minnesota as part of an Introduction to the RCIA at the Maryvale Institute, 2/22/2014 and the rest of this paper was given in sup … [Read more...]

Defining the Obvious

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to strike down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional is an example of how basic definitions logically determine what is regarded as morally just and what is regarded a … [Read more...]

Dietrich von Hildebrand on the Natural Ends of Religion

The ultimate aim of all authentic religious practice, von Hildebrand always insists, is the creation of a truly supernatural life in the soul of the believer, in order to bring him to a final end with God that fallen nature can never hope … [Read more...]

Existence as Persons In and Through Others

The human family is the relational image of the relational Trinity, in which each divine person is distinct from the other while eternally one with the other in communion, community, and communication.   We are aware of ourselves as … [Read more...]