Archives for August 2026

Homilies for September 2026

For September 6, September 13, September 14 (Exaltation of the Cross), September 15 (Our Lady of Sorrows), September 20, and September 27 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – September 6, 2026 Readings: Ezekiel 33:7–9 • Psalm 95:1–2, 6 … [Read more...]

Forming the Mind and Heart of the Priest

Human Formation in a Fragmented Culture

Culture is the air one breathes; it is the environment in which one’s habits, values, and patterns of thought are engendered. Psychological data has shown that current cultural factors and influences pose major threats to the appropriate d … [Read more...]

The Fathers We Are Losing

The Crisis at Noon

Priests are leaving active ministry in their middle years, and we have not reckoned with why. This essay offers a partial answer from an unlikely source: the developmental psychology of Maria Montessori, which treats every crisis not as a … [Read more...]

Antioch’s Flesh and Bone: Rereading Scripture Beyond Fundamentalism and Suspicion

Along the dusty banks of the Orontes, in a city where merchants’ voices collided with imperial decrees and parish quarrels, the Antiochene masters learned to read Scripture under pressure. Not the pressure of modern ideology, but the older k … [Read more...]

Catholic Financial Management: Relational, Pastoral, Mission-driven and Synodal

Any reflection on financial management in the Catholic Church in the US could easily focus on policy, on USCCB guidelines, Canon Law or similar matters. My focus here is to make five points about the culture and practice of financial … [Read more...]

Reflections on a Bobblehead

Cleaning out sixty years of my predecessor’s accumulated stuff from my latest rectory was a matter of triage: what could I clean and use, what could I sell on eBay, and what should go in the 40-cubic-yard dumpster I quickly filled to o … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – September 2026

Pope Saint Paul VI’s Credo of the People of God Question One: I read that Pope Saint Paul VI wrote a Creed. What was it and was it ever prayed at Mass? Answer: In the turbulent years following the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic C … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – September 2026

The Diaconate Revisited: Questions and Developments Since Vatican II. By Marc B. Caron. Reviewed by Rev. Ryan Connors. (skip to review) Autonomy, Consciousness, and Personhood: A Primer for the Public Dialogue on Abortion. By Stephen … [Read more...]

In Memoriam: Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ

Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J., editor emeritus of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, died on August 6, 2026. He assumed leadership of HPR in 1971 and held his position for almost forty years, in addition to many other apostolates in media and … [Read more...]