It is patently unthinkable that someone would attempt to win the Tour de France alone. This is the reason why cycling has always been a team sport. At the professional level, even teams are never solo; they come together to form a peloton, … [Read more...]
Articles
The Gift of the Liturgical Reform
Fifty years ago this Advent, on November 30, 1969, the reform of the Eucharistic liturgy called for by Vatican Council II and promulgated by Pope Paul VI went into effect, and Catholics around the world celebrated Mass for the first time in … [Read more...]
Who Were the Magi,
and Why Were They Wise?
“Where is the newborn King?” the Magi from the East asked the people of Jerusalem. “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage” (Mt 2:1–12). The Magi followed the star to the newborn King and then, having been warned in a d … [Read more...]
Are Eucharistic Prophecies Being Ignored?
The startling news of the lack of faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in about 69% of Catholics today should come as no surprise to those familiar with the messages and missions of St. Faustina Kowalska and Dorothy O’Neill … [Read more...]
The Sweetness of Fatima
Catholics begin a new liturgical year by starting with a pregnant Virgin Mother in Advent, and we start a new chronological year by invoking her once again — the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. If God “started” with Mary, why shouldn’t we? … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – January 2020
The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today By Sam Guzman. Reviewed by Austin Barnes. (skip to review) Still Amidst the Storm: A Family Man’s Search for Peace in an Anxious World By Conor Gallagher. Reviewed by Seth G … [Read more...]
The Eucharist as Source and Summit of Evangelization in the Recent Magisterium
“Yes, if only I am lifted up from the earth, I will attract all men to myself.”[1. Jn 12:32. All Scriptural quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Knox Translation of the Bible.] In recent decades, the Church’s Magisterium has rep … [Read more...]
Understanding the Vatican’s Document on Gender Theory and Education
I’ve been trying to keep up with the diverse array of responses to the release of “Man and Woman He Created Them,” the Vatican’s new document addressing gender theory and education. Predictably, liberal Catholic news outlets have criticized … [Read more...]
Boredom, Ordinary Time, and God’s Gift of Himself
It is routine to hear people good-heartedly mock the reasonableness of the Church’s liturgical calendar “celebrating” “Ordinary Time.” To celebrate ordinariness is a true curiosity within Western culture, because its members routinely seek e … [Read more...]
Suicide Prevention in Youth
The severity of the mental health crisis in American youth has been clearly documented again by the shocking research reported in the Wall Street Journal that over the ten year period 2007 to 2017 the suicide rate among people ages 10 to 24 … [Read more...]
Review: Pope Francis: The Legacy of Vatican II
Pope Francis: The Legacy of Vatican II (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Dr. Eduardo J. Echeverria (Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishers, 2019) 456 pages No one who has paid even the least amount of attention could fail to conclude that, … [Read more...]
No-Fault Divorce, Standing for Justice
Parish Priests and Divorce If a devastated woman approaches her pastor because she learned her husband committed adultery, the pastor might advise that she should hire a good divorce lawyer. When a faithful husband with four children tells … [Read more...]
Canon Law, Civil Law, and the Current Crisis in the Church
Reflections of a Civil Lawyer Studying Canon Law in Rome
Last fall I left my job as a corporate lawyer and began studying canon law in Rome. Explaining my rationale to my colleagues wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined. Whether they were practicing Catholics, fallen-away Catholics, not-yet C … [Read more...]
Human and Divine Fatherhood in The Violent Bear It Away and Gilead
The Violent Bear It Away and Gilead show the role of prophet as a preacher of the Lord as a genetic vocation growing out of ‘blood’ and family bonds, but responded to in varying degrees and manifestations. While Marilynne Robinson paints a p … [Read more...]
John of the Cross and Exercising Charisms for Evangelization
A Response to Elizabeth Salas
Once in a while I run into statements like: “Catholics shouldn’t seek to exercise the charisms of the Spirit because St. John of the Cross cautioned against them.” Such concerns come in different forms and are usually raised by people who si … [Read more...]
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