Why Is Clericalism so Bad? The most lethal consequence of clericalism, I believe, is the deadening it inflicts upon the Body of Christ, His Church ordered and intended for maturity — for holy, fervent, fruitful and glorious life! The c … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2019
Patristic Ressourcement in the Theology of the Priesthood
I. Introduction Recent years have seen a significant shift in how the people of God — both priests and lay faithful — have come to view the sacrament of holy orders, as well as the baptismal character of the common priesthood of all Chr … [Read more...]
Mary the Perfected Witness
Achieving Our Saintly Destiny in a World of Choices
On December 21, Pope Francis spoke about Our Lady and Saint Joseph in the Nativity scene being full of holiness and joy. He continued: “And you will tell me: of course! They are Our Lady and Saint Joseph! Yes, but let us not think it was e … [Read more...]
“How Shall This Be?”
A Call to Humility for a New Pentecost
Consider, O Brethren, this great marvel. God is on high: reach up to Him, and He flees from you; Lower yourself before Him, and He comes down to you. — St. Augustine There has been an almost-constant stream of news concerning sexual a … [Read more...]
Requirements of Conjugal Love
Blueprinting for a Lasting Marriage in Christ
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the Sacrament of Matrimony as a “matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life . . . ordered toward the good of the spouses and t … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – March 2019
Servant of All: Status, Ambition, and the Way of Jesus By Craig C. Hill. Reviewed by Matthew K. Minerd, PhD. (skip to review) The Priestly Blessing: Rediscovering the Gift By Stephen J. Rossetti. Reviewed by Fr. John Cush. (skip to … [Read more...]
What does the Doctor Diagnose? Listening to the Church Doctor
St. Catherine of Siena on Perennial Principles for Our Attitudes towards Priests
Introductory Note: The author is restricting this essay to attitudes toward priests in light of the Philadelphia Grand Jury report. She extends wholehearted sympathy for the shattered lives affected by the actions of immoral priests. By … [Read more...]
Does the Text of Amoris Laetitia Allow Communion for the Divorced and Remarried?
Part 2
Previously, I have presented the positive argumentation that the text of Amoris Laetitia does not allow Communion for the divorced and remarried who intend to continue sexual relations.[1. Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC, “Does the Text of A … [Read more...]
Pope Francis and the Purification of Heroic Desire
It is the duty of pastoral homiletics to call the faithful to heroic virtue. Virtue itself, to be sure, is a core fruit of receiving the Gospel, but, at times, we need to hear the call to heroic virtue; that is, we must know that the next … [Read more...]
Catherine O’Donnell’s Elizabeth Seton: American Saint
A Review Essay
O’Donnell, Catherine. Elizabeth Seton: American Saint. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018. 508 pages. As the only scholarly biography of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to be published since her canonization in 1975, Christine O’Donnell’s w … [Read more...]
Homilies for March 2019
For Mar. 3, Mar. 10, Mar. 17, Mar. 24, and Mar. 31. 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time – March 3, 2019 Readings: Sir 27:4–7 • Ps 92:2–3, 13–16 • 1 Cor 15:54–58 • Lk 6:39–45 usccb.org/bible/readings/030319.cfm The Discipline of the Disci … [Read more...]
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