Rev. John P. Cush, STD

About Rev. John P. Cush, STD

Father John P. Cush, STD, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, is the Editor-in-Chief of Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Fr. Cush serves as a full-time Professor of Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology, Director of Seminarian Admissions and Recruitment, and Formation Advisor at Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in New York. Before that, he served in parochial work and in full-time high school teaching in the Diocese of Brooklyn and had served as Academic Dean/Assistant Vice-Rector and Formation Advisor at the Pontifical North American College Rome, Italy.
 
Fr. Cush holds the pontifical doctorate in sacred theology (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy in the field of fundamental theology, He had also studied dogmatic theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), Rome, Italy, on the graduate level. Fr. Cush is the author of The How-to-Book of Theology (OSV Press, 2020) and Theology as Prayer: a Primer for Diocesan Priests (with Msgr. Walter Oxley), as well as being a contributor to the festschrift Intellect, Affect, and God (Marquette University Press, 2021). He is also the author of Nothing But You: Reflections on the Priesthood and Priestly Formation through the Lens of Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire, July 2024) and Your Faith Has Saved You: Homilies for Liturgical Year C – Sundays, Solemnities, and Some Feasts (En Route Books and Media, 2025).

Homilies for January 2025

For January 1 (Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God), January 5 (Epiphany), January 12 (Baptism of the Lord), January 19, and January 26  Homily for Mary, Mother of God by Rev. John P. Cush All others by Br. Lawrence Joshua Johnson, … [Read more...]

Celebrating 125 Years of Homiletic & Pastoral Review

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” So writes T.S. Eliot in his “Little Gidding” in his Four Quartets (1941). The same can be said … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – January 2025

How Does St. Thomas Aquinas Argue for God’s Existence? Question: I have heard about Aquinas’ five proofs for the existence of God years ago and I never really understood them. Would you be able to explain them and briefly comment on them? A … [Read more...]

Homilies for December 2024

For December 1, December 8, December 9 (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception), December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe), December 15, December 22, December 25 (Nativity of Our Lord), and December 29 (Feast of the Holy … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – December 2024

Doctrine vs. Dogma: The Difference? Question: Dear Father Cush, I hope that this is a simple question — what’s the difference between doctrine and dogma? Answer: Dear Reader, that is a great question and it is one that even I get con … [Read more...]

Homilies for November 2024

For All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, November 3, November 10, November 17, and November 24 (Solemnity of Christ the King) Solemnity of All Saints – November 1, 2024 Readings: Rv 7:2–4, 9–14 • Ps 24:1bc–2, 3–4ab, 5–6 • 1 Jn 3:1–3 • Mt 5:1 … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – November 2024

Understanding Heresies: Their Nature and History Question: Dear Father Cush, I was the person who asked if there were any Trinitarian theology before the First Council of Nicaea. Thank you for your very thorough answer last month, but I am … [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...]

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...]

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...]

Questions Answered – August 2024

What Is Necessary to Belong to the True Church? Question from the reader: Who is a member of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, and what is required for full membership in the “heart” of the Church? What is the relation of this C … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – July 2024

How Do Sacraments Work? Question from the Reader: What does sacramental causality mean? My parish priest mentioned this concept in our adult education class on the sacraments and never explained it. Can you help me understand it? Answer … [Read more...]

Review of Verbum 10

INTRODUCTION By Rev. John P. Cush, STD When I published my first book, The How-to-Book of Catholic Theology (Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2020), I was asked to schedule an interview with Mr. T.L. Putnam, who ran a weekly radio program … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – June 2024

By Rev. John P. Cush, STD, consulting with Fr. Timothy Eck What Can Chalices Be Made Of? Question: My priest uses a Waterford Crystal Chalice and Paten for the celebration of Holy Mass. Is this permitted according to the 2002 General … [Read more...]

Homilies for May 2024

For the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the Solemnity of the Ascension, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Pentecost Sunday, and the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Note: Homily for Pentecost Sunday by Rev. John P. Cush, STD; all others for May … [Read more...]