How is it possible to grow close to God, even very close? What’s the best way to climb the steep stairway of perfection? St. Thérèse of Lisieux has some wonderful advice for us on these questions in her autobiography, The Story of a Sou … [Read more...]
Articles
The Holy Spirit and the Four Marks of the Church
August 23, 2024 by Dr. Michael Brummond
In the creed which we profess at Mass, we declare the Church to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. In the past, particularly in counter-reformation apologetics, it was not uncommon for these four marks to serve as a kind of litmus test … [Read more...]
Helping Penitents Overcome Pornography Use Within the Sacrament of the Penance
August 23, 2024 by Fr. Justin A. Freeman
Pornography is an epidemic. Social science data and the experiences of priests counseling parishioners reveal the ubiquity of pornography in our society. The accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of Internet pornography has exposed … [Read more...]
Equip and Deploy the Sleeping Giant
Foundational Formation for Lay Catholics to Become Effective Evangelizers
August 23, 2024 by Janet Diaz
St. Paul teaches that “truth is in Jesus.” What then is the lived consequence for people who meet Jesus and choose to give their lives to him? Paul goes on to explain that those people should “put away the old self” of their lives before the … [Read more...]
Pastoral Planning 101
A Stronger Communion for the Sake of the Mission: A Better Church
August 23, 2024 by Jim Lundholm-Eades
For those of us who experienced pastoral planning at parish or diocesan levels over time, we have seen changes that make the practices of the past seem unrecognizable. Key to those changes is a re-examination of the underlying purpose of … [Read more...]
Twenty-five Years After the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
How an Ecumenical Achievement Offers Catechetical and Pastoral Opportunities
July 26, 2024 by Rev. Bradley D. Easterbrooks
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). The declaration, first signed on October 31, 1999 by representatives of the Catholic Church[1. The Catholic signatories were … [Read more...]
Revolution in Theology?
A Closer Look at the Significance of Pope Francis’ Ad Theologiam Promovendam
July 26, 2024 by Fr. Andreas Kramarz, LC
A theological outrage was frothing in the wake of Pope Francis’ November 1, 2023, apostolic letter motu proprio: Ad Theologiam Promovendam (henceforth ATP), which accompanied the approval of new statutes for the Pontifical Academy of T … [Read more...]
Pain, Suffering, and Redemption: Where Faith and Reason Mingle
July 26, 2024 by Stephen Doran, MD
Much has been said about the compatibility between faith and reason, religion and science. But they are more than parallel tracks that share mutual respect. Rather, they are integrated; they inform one another. In a particular way, the … [Read more...]
Understanding Pain
Pastoral Approaches to Help Those Who Suffer
July 26, 2024 by Fr. John W. Love
“Understanding Pain: Pastoral approaches to help those who suffer,” by Fr. John Love, The Priest, March 2024. ©OSV. Used by permission. No other use of this material is authorized. “If you feel pain, you’re alive. If you feel other people’s … [Read more...]
Why Israel Matters: The Biblical Roots of Catholic Zionism
July 26, 2024 by Dr. André Villeneuve
The horrific Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the ensuing war in Gaza have raised many questions among Catholics: Should they support Israel? And if so, should they do so on purely political or moral grounds (such as … [Read more...]
Adoration and the Struggle of Prayer
June 28, 2024 by Fr. Philip Nolan, OP
Surely one sign of hope of Eucharistic revival is the ever-increasing interest among U.S. Catholics in the practice and theology of Eucharistic adoration.[1. For the historical context of the practice of Eucharistic adoration outside of … [Read more...]
Why Did God Become Incarnate as a Man?
June 28, 2024 by Perry J. Cahall, Ph.D.
Seeking the answer to the question that is the title of this essay[1. I would like to thank Sr. Mary Ann Fatula, O.P., Professor Emerita at Ohio Dominican University, for her invaluable comments that helped to improve this essay. I would … [Read more...]
The Feast of Beholding Jesus
June 28, 2024 by Brandon P. Otto
Liturgy is fleshy, concrete, material; it is the prayer of smoking resin, sloughing wax, swirling wine and water; it is the remembrance of God made man gutted on a Cross; it is the celebration of a grilled Lawrence, a gouged-eye Lucy, a Fr. … [Read more...]
Eucharistic Amazement
June 28, 2024 by Rev. Thomas G. Morrow
We speak of the Eucharist in two senses: the Mass and the Sacrament. The first is the re-offering of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The second is the Blessed Sacrament, which we adore in the tabernacle or monstrance, and receive in … [Read more...]
Changes to College Priestly Formation: A Defense
May 24, 2024 by Fr. Etienne Huard, O.S.B.
Belonging to a few online priest support groups, I have noticed a question gaining popularity: the value of the changes in priestly formation. The concern is focused on the perception that this change creates an additional year of … [Read more...]
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