The recent half-century of Pope Paul VI’s reformed (“Ordinary Form,” or OF) Mass, which came shortly after the twelfth anniversary of the liberalization of the previous (“Extraordinary Form,” or EF) form of Mass, should stimulate us to engag … [Read more...]
Articles
Accompanying, Discerning, and Integrating Weakness in Marriage
Chapter eight and its footnotes of Amoris Laetitia begins with the above title and has been pilloried extensively by much of the people of God’s thinkers due to some ambiguities in light of sacred Tradition. However, the title is a m … [Read more...]
Newman‘s Concept of Conscience in His Quest for Moral Truth
The question about truth is vividly present in the teachings of the Catholic Church throughout the ages. The discourse on truth — which resounds in the question posed to Christ, “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38) — has been heard throughout the cen … [Read more...]
Conscience as Relationship, Part II
A Dialogue through Which God Takes Us beyond Ourselves
In the second of these two articles on conscience[1. See Francis Etheredge, “Conscience as Relationship, Part I: General Principles and Personal Experience,” Homiletic & Pastoral Review (Jan 2020), hpr … [Read more...]
Pastoral Care of Women Who Have Left the Convent
In the fall of 2014, I got on a train to enter the convent. I was happy and healthy, with an intact family, great friends, a list of accomplishments I was proud of, and no history of mental health trouble, having passed my psychological … [Read more...]
Well Directed — Lessons Learned
from Saint Paul
The Importance of Spiritual Direction in the Ministry and Mission of Evangelization in Light of the Life and Ministry of the Apostle Paul
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may … [Read more...]
The Heart of a Priest
St. John Vianney
Father Patrice Chocholski is the successor of St. John Vianney as the pastor of the Parish of St. Sixtus in Ars, France. In July of 2018, Fr. Patrice brought the relic of the heart of St. John Vianney to the United States on a pilgrimage … [Read more...]
Benedict XVI on Self-“Excommunication”
In his Encyclical Eccelsia De Eucharista, Saint John Paul II reiterated the proclamation of the Second Vatican Council that the celebration of the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”[1. Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia De … [Read more...]
Thou Shall Not Steal
The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods
The seventh commandment in the Decalogue, “You shall not steal,” is expounded upon in the Catechism in the following excerpt: [The seventh commandment] commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's lab … [Read more...]
Conscience as Relationship, Part I
General Principles and Personal Experience
As regards the discernment of what is actually good amidst the multitude of the many possible goods arising out of the “results of physics, genetics, and neuroscience, as well as of increasingly powerful computing capabilities, [and the] p … [Read more...]
Life in Peloton
A Reflection on Cycling and Priestly Fraternity
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...]
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...]
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