Over the last two decades, the Roman Catholic Church in the United States has reeled under claims of clerical sexual abuse. The claims resulted in extraordinary liability and wide-spread publicity. When bad things happen in any … [Read more...]
Archives for 2017
A German Philosopher Sees the World
A Review Essay of Josef Pieper’s Not Yet the Twilight: An Autobiography
July 21, 2017 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
“The almost lethal crisis of American Catholicism after the second Vatican Council, I was convinced, consisted mainly in the absence of a living theology in the universities. Again and again, the guest (i.e., Pieper) from Europe, the old c … [Read more...]
Of Horses and Men
July 21, 2017 by Dr. John M. Grondelski
Over thirty-five years have passed since St. John Paul II issued his encyclical, Laborem exercens. Its key principle—that human labor has priority over raw capital (§12)—was, and remains, a revolutionary proposition. It shouldn’t be. Capita … [Read more...]
A Layman’s Look at Television Commercials
July 21, 2017 by Cornelius F. Murphy
In 1979, the Justice Department filed suit against the National Association of Broadcasters claiming that it was illegal for the members of that trade group to agree to restrict media advertising. The rules of the association would limit … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
July 21, 2017 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Does a homily mean something other than a sermon? Online dictionaries seem to show them to be interchangeable. I have for years now believed homilies to be based on Scripture, and sermons might cover a range of topics, not … [Read more...]
Homilies for July 2017
June 28, 2017 by Fr. Patrick Hyde, OP
July 2, 2017 - 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time Readings: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/070217.cfm 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a; Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19; Rom 6:3-4, 8-11; Mt 10:37-42 The gradual conversions of pious saints pale in comparison wi … [Read more...]
Applying Six Offline Models to Online Evangelization
June 28, 2017 by Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC
The Internet has now opened up as a wide field for our evangelization. Much of the cultural interchange now takes place via such electronic means. The Church is called to step out into every new forum and evangelize it, yet for the online … [Read more...]
Considering Culpability
June 28, 2017 by Dr. Ralph Martin, STD
Why an Article on this Topic? It all began with a statement made by a student in a class I was teaching for our License in Sacred Theology (STL) Program at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. I was conducting a seminar on the stages of … [Read more...]
The Explosive Growth of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in the Global South, and Its Implications for Catholic Evangelization
June 28, 2017 by Fr. Mathias D. Thelen, STL
Most Catholics are unaware that the heart of global Christianity is moving south—into South America, Africa, and even to Asia.[1. Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming Global Christianity, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2 … [Read more...]
On the Third Day of the New Creation, God Established the Chair of Peter
June 28, 2017 by Matthew Tsakanikas, STD
It was not on accident that John chose to start his Gospel with the words “In the beginning…” A picture paints a thousand words, but in John’s case: three words painted with the power of a thousand reinforcing images. In three words, all the … [Read more...]
The Power in a Penance
June 28, 2017 by Dr. John Buri
About six or seven years ago, I participated in the sacrament of reconciliation. (By the way, that was not my last time.) At the heart of my confession was the fact that I had recently been responding to my wife with “irritation” or “an … [Read more...]
The Glory of the Resurrection
The Wonder of Our Future Life
June 28, 2017 by Brent Withers
God’s desire is that we praise him and give him glory for all eternity. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is an act of praise and thanksgiving where we are invited to become consciously aware of everything God has done for us, and how our p … [Read more...]
What Lessons Do Thomas Aquinas’s Sermons Hold For Modern Preachers?
June 12, 2017 by Dr. Randall B. Smith, Ph.D.
Son: “All the men who were ordained with me seemed to think that the faculty of preaching will come to them as a matter of course.” Father: “Then I pity their congregations.” —Canon Twells, Colloquies on Preaching It is strange to th … [Read more...]
Re-evaluating the Diaconate
The Liturgical Potential of the Deacon
June 12, 2017 by Fr. Ryan Rojo, S.T.L.
Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, delivered a riveting, yet controversial, address to the attendees of Sacra Liturgia Conference in Rome in July 2016. The Prefect … [Read more...]
The Interface of Spirituality and Theology in Leontius of Jerusalem and Theodore the Studite
June 12, 2017 by Nicholas Senz
Lex orandi, lex credendi: the law of prayer is the law of belief. This maxim, attributed to the fifth century writer, Prosper of Aquitaine, pithily expresses the inherent link between theology and spirituality. The way in which one connects … [Read more...]
Recent Comments