Archives for 2016

Can Philosophy Strengthen an Ecumenical Approach to Issues of Morality?

There has been considerable discussion in recent years about the philosophical assumptions that underlie false understandings of morality in our society. These assumptions have affected not only secular developments but also practices and … [Read more...]

The Church Needs the Holy Spirit!

It is notable—important—that the preaching of John the Baptist, in his crucial preparation of the coming of the Messiah, and the preaching of Christ Jesus Himself, both began with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” … [Read more...]

Reflections on Reminders in our Lives

There’s an old joke about the definition of a college professor: “Oh, that would be someone who can’t say anything just once.” Having spent 35 years at the front of classrooms at two universities, I can attest to the aptness of the descrip … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Question: On the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II, what are the positive and negative results of this Council? Answer: The Second Vatican Council is the watershed event of the Catholic Church in the 20th Century. Though 50 years have … [Read more...]

Early Fall Reading

The Beach Teacher Scriptural Lessons from the Shore, Alexander J. Basile, (St. Pauls, 2015) 103 pages; $8.95. ISBN978-0-8189-1383-9. Reviewed by Eileen T. Warner M.A.P.M. My Brother’s Keeper — A Novel about the Family of Jesus. B. Kas … [Read more...]

Homilies for September 2016

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time—September 4, 2016 Lectionary 129 Readings: Wis 9:13-18b; Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17;Phmn 9-10, 12-17;Lk 14:25-33 The first reading from the Book of Wisdom contains many spiritual gems, in which we … [Read more...]

Teaching Silently, Reaching the World Through a Hidden Life of Suffering

An Interview with Raymond Arroyo on Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence

Even if you don’t watch Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), you have probably heard about Mother Angelica, the feisty Italian-American cloistered nun from Canton, Ohio, who in 1981, at the age of 58, launched, quite improbably, what t … [Read more...]

Transsexual attractions and sexual reassignment surgery

Risks and potential risks

Given the early age at which youth seek treatment for transsexual attractions (TSA) and gender dysphoria, and given the serious risks associated with such treatment, it is essential that family and youth be advised about these risks, and … [Read more...]

God’s Armor versus the Devil’s Stratagems

Spiritual Combat Revisited

Introduction To say that we are living in thoroughly trying times is unfortunately neither an exaggeration nor a platitude. We are witnessing the symmetrically opposite progression of falling ethical standards on the one hand, and rising … [Read more...]

Feminine Empathy in Two Daughters of Israel

On the feast of St. John of the Cross, 1934, Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (St. Edith Stein) highlighted the age-old battle between good and evil, sin and death: The sight of the world in which we live, the need and misery, and an … [Read more...]

Holy Communion and the Importance of Marriage

As is now widely known, there have been calls from some high-ranking prelates, chief among them Cardinal Walter Kasper, to reconsider the Catholic Church's practice with regard to holy communion for Catholics who have validly married but … [Read more...]

Late Summer Reading

Unity in the Church or The Principle of Catholicism. By Johann Adam Möhler. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 1996). 487 pages. $34.95. ISBN: 978-0-8132-2876-1. Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on Law. By J. Bu … [Read more...]

Homilies for August 2016

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time— August 7, 2016 Readings: Wis 18:6-9; Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22; Heb 11:1-2, 8-19:  Lk 12:32-48. We do a lot of moving around in a single day. We move from home, to work, to school, to the grocery st … [Read more...]

To Whom Shall We Go?

(“To whom shall we go?” John 6: 66-69)[1. “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Simeon Peter answered him, … [Read more...]

The Slant of Glory

“Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Glory be to the Father…” (Ps 126:1) (Introit from the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.) In America, the gravity of major weekend games, … [Read more...]