Full incorporation in the Catholic Church requires professing the same one faith, sharing the same seven Sacraments — especially Baptism and the Eucharist — and communion with the Pope and College of Bishops.[1. Vatican II, dogmatic con … [Read more...]
Magazine
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...]
Homilies for August 2026
For August 2, August 9, August 16, August 23, and August 30, as well as the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady (August 15) Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 2, 2026 Readings: Isaiah 55:1–3 • Psalm 145:8–9, 15–16, 17–18 • R … [Read more...]
The American Proposition, Religious Liberty, and the Catholic Imagination
Few subjects have generated more misunderstanding among Catholics than religious liberty. For some, it is viewed as a purely American political concept imported into Catholic thought. For others, it is considered self-evidently compatible … [Read more...]
Defanging the Snake: Why Phone Addiction Demands Meaning, Not Mere Rules
In meetings of rectors, formators, and religious superiors, the same concern surfaces repeatedly: How do we regulate candidates’ use of mobile phones and electronic devices? Rules are proposed — designated usage times, restricted internet ac … [Read more...]
You Cannot Love Both God and TikTok
Governing our digital lives is among the greater challenges facing us as a species, as a Church, and as individuals. Because the Bible’s many books were written thousands of years ago, we might make the mistake of thinking that Sacred S … [Read more...]
The Homilies We Need
I have a confession: I have never heard a homily from the pulpit which I remember the next day. Now, granted, my memory is not great, so part of the fault is with me. But I don’t think I’m unique. Part of the problem might be that pre … [Read more...]
Short on Time: A Weekly Preparation Routine for Busy Preachers
Everyone is busy; schedules fill up quickly and priorities change for priests on a near-hourly basis. Sick calls, funerals, Pre-Cana preparation, school talks, meetings, meetings, and more meetings. Deacons and lay catechists … [Read more...]
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