For October 6, October 13, October 20, and October 27 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 6, 2024 Readings: Gn. 2:18–24 • Ps. 128:1–2, 3, 4–5, 6 • Heb. 2:9–11 • Mk. 10:2–16 or 10:2–12 bible.us … [Read more...]
Archives for 2024
Pope Francis and the Church’s Mission Today
Note: Archbishop George Leo Thomas gave the following address on October 16, 2023, at the conclusion of the Mass of Canonical Establishment of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. On June 29th, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, I received the … [Read more...]
Sisters in the Same Spirit
The Cathedral of Mary our Queen and the Second Vatican Council
The following was originally given as part of a lecture series on the history and theology of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland to the Cathedral parish. It has been slightly modified by the author for … [Read more...]
Notes on a Catholic Ecumenical Perspective of the Sacramental Life of the Church
Paper presented at a bi-annual meeting of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, of which I am a member, June 5, 2023, Colorado Springs. If anyone says that these seven sacraments are so equal to one another that one is not in any way of … [Read more...]
Draw Near to Christ through Our Lady and the Saints
How is it possible to grow close to God, even very close? What’s the best way to climb the steep stairway of perfection? St. Thérèse of Lisieux has some wonderful advice for us on these questions in her autobiography, The Story of a Sou … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – October 2024
The Trinity and Valid Baptism Q: Dear Father Cush, My coordinator of faith formation accepted someone who was a Mormon as a “candidate” for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults in our parish program. As the pastor of the parish, I ha … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – October 2024
Exegetical Journeys in Biblical Greek: 90 Days of Guided Reading. By Benjamin L. Merkle. Reviewed by D. Malachi Walker. (skip to review) He Gave Us So Much: A Tribute to Benedict XVI. By Robert Cardinal Sarah. Reviewed by Dr. Brandon … [Read more...]
Homilies for September 2024
For September 1, September 8, September 15, September 22, and September 29 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – September 1, 2024 Readings: Dt 4:1–2, 6–8 • Ps 15:2–3, 3–4, 4–5 • Jas 1:17–18, 21b–22, 27 • Mk 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23 bible. … [Read more...]
Ecclesiology After the NEC with Bishop Barron as Our Guide
I was not blessed to personally attend the National Eucharistic Congress this past July. However, I know several bishops, priests, religious sisters, and seminarians, both religious and diocesan seminarians, who had attended, and all of … [Read more...]
The Holy Spirit and the Four Marks of the Church
In the creed which we profess at Mass, we declare the Church to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. In the past, particularly in counter-reformation apologetics, it was not uncommon for these four marks to serve as a kind of litmus test … [Read more...]
Helping Penitents Overcome Pornography Use Within the Sacrament of the Penance
Pornography is an epidemic. Social science data and the experiences of priests counseling parishioners reveal the ubiquity of pornography in our society. The accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of Internet pornography has exposed … [Read more...]
Equip and Deploy the Sleeping Giant
Foundational Formation for Lay Catholics to Become Effective Evangelizers
St. Paul teaches that “truth is in Jesus.” What then is the lived consequence for people who meet Jesus and choose to give their lives to him? Paul goes on to explain that those people should “put away the old self” of their lives before the … [Read more...]
Pastoral Planning 101
A Stronger Communion for the Sake of the Mission: A Better Church
For those of us who experienced pastoral planning at parish or diocesan levels over time, we have seen changes that make the practices of the past seem unrecognizable. Key to those changes is a re-examination of the underlying purpose of … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – September 2024
Question from the Reader: My priest at Mass said that the number of the Sacraments was not determined until the Council of Trent. I was told since I was a child in religion class that Our Lord Jesus established seven sacraments in the … [Read more...]
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