Advent is a time of preparation. It has many parallels to Lent: we don the purple, we suppress the Gloria (awaiting the angels to sing it again for the first time at Midnight Mass), and we are given weeks to allow the Holy Spirit to prepare … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2018
An Advent Examination
November 30, 2018 by Fr. Kenneth G. Davis, OFM Conv.
Advent is not a season of penance, but of preparation. Advent prepares us for the two comings of Christ, that is, the Incarnation and the Eschaton. However, amid the garlands and the gifts, we all know how easy it is to become wrapped up in … [Read more...]
Exploring Harmful Anger in and at Marriage and the Priesthood
November 30, 2018 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
The protection of one’s marriage and children from the harm caused by excessive anger is an important responsibility for parents in their vocation. Particularly challenging is the uncovering and addressing of anger expressed in a covert, m … [Read more...]
The Benedict Option for a “Monastic” Church
November 30, 2018 by Richard H. Bulzacchelli, STD
Abstract Rod Dreher proposes what he calls the “Benedict Option,” by which he means a return to a monastic paradigm for Christian life, opting for the City of God in contrast to the City of Man. This world isn’t our home. It’s the desert th … [Read more...]
Minister in the Sanctuary
Christ’s High Priesthood in the Letter to the Hebrews
November 30, 2018 by Marcus Benedict Peter
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” – Hebrews 4:14 The author of the Letter to the Hebrews advocates a novel manner of approaching th … [Read more...]
The Necessity of Confession and Its Seal
November 30, 2018 by Fr. John M. McDermott, SJ
Any Catholic reading the report of Australia’s Royal Commission of Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse must be appalled by the multiple instances of child abuse in ecclesial institutions perpetrated by priests, religious, and l … [Read more...]
Book Reviews for Late Autumn 2018
November 30, 2018 by Book Reviews
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...]
Questions Concerning the Charism of Healing
An Amicus Brief
November 14, 2018 by Philip Blosser
In her recent book, Healing: Bringing the Gift of God’s Mercy to the World (Our Sunday Visitor, 2015), biblical theologian and popular speaker Mary Healy addresses with great passion the issue of healing — particularly the charism of hea … [Read more...]
Purgatory: A Key Doctrine
November 14, 2018 by Rev. Thomas G. Morrow
The dogma of Purgatory is an all-but-forgotten teaching of the Church, yet it is extremely valuable in supporting the call to perfection. The fundamental purpose of Purgatory is not forgiveness of sins, but making up for sins, reparation. … [Read more...]
Natural and Supernatural Faith
November 14, 2018 by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
Introduction Well-formed Catholics know that we are infused at baptism with sanctifying grace and with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Some know that these virtues reside in potency, and not automatically in actuality. … [Read more...]
Reform Requires Holiness of All the Faithful
November 14, 2018 by Richard P. Maggi, Esq.
The wounds of the Church’s sex-abuse scandals have been reopened by the revelations of abuse by Cardinal McCarrick, the former Washington D.C. archbishop; by the Chilean scandal, the Pennsylvania grand jury report, and more recently perhaps … [Read more...]
Complain, Complain!
There Are Reasons for Poor Music at Mass
November 14, 2018 by Bill Kassel
Professor Anthony Esolen, writer in residence at Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts, recently wrote an essay for the Catholic magazine Crisis in which he complained about the quality of music at Mass. He’s certainly not alone in his … [Read more...]
Five Tips for Graduate School
November 14, 2018 by Sr. Maria Catherine Toon, OP
During my first semester of graduate school in theology, the required class on the Trinity nearly “ate my lunch”. To put it simply, I could never study enough to understand the subject more, nor could I seem to improve my papers enough to el … [Read more...]
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