Faith, hope, and charity are the three theological virtues — the three virtues that direct us immediately and rightly to God Himself.[1. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the theological virtues are called “Theological” for three reasons: God is … [Read more...]
Articles
Making Pastoral Sense of Pope Francis’ “Civil Arrangement” Proposal
Pope Francis’ recent comments on “civil arrangement/union” for same-sex couples have caused concern among many across the world. Several Catholic bishops, archbishops and even a few cardinals have not minced words in their criticism. Even so … [Read more...]
The Month of the Priesthood
One of the relatively minor and nonetheless frustrating consequences of COVID’s rude invasion into society can be observed in diaconal and priestly ordinations. These typically large-scale celebrations have been reduced to minute g … [Read more...]
“I Am The Immaculate Conception”
In his classic and inspirational book The Song of Bernadette, a novel based on the true story of Mary’s apparitions and miracle at Lourdes, France, Franz Werfel wrote, “Then at last she revealed the most important happening of the day, whi … [Read more...]
Religious Life: Ideal and Reality
All aspects of life are experienced on a continuum between the poles of ideal and reality. Human relationships are one example. Certainly, all desire our relationships to be of an ideal, but such a desire is not possible, for reality tells … [Read more...]
The Sacrament of Marrying
A Covenant and a Verb
Because the family is the basic unit of society through all time, it is imperative to delve deeper into the sacrament of matrimony, or the verb of marrying as I will explain. St. John Paul II said on December 7, 1986 during a visit to … [Read more...]
The Remarks of Pope Francis on the Legal Recognition of Homosexual Unions
In the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered on October 21, 2020, Pope Francis is recorded in an interview as arguing for the legal recognition of homosexual civil unions: “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re c … [Read more...]
Dangerous, Creeping Globalism in the World and in the Church
Part One: The Crisis Grows Closer This is a very dangerous age we live in. The danger is existential, because the forces at work today ultimately threaten the temporal lives of us all, so boldly and arrogantly do they deny and insult God, … [Read more...]
The Protestant Reformation: The Cause of Modern Relativism
“Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine,’ seems the only attitude that … [Read more...]
Confessions of a Millennial Priest
I shared with a friend that I was weighing the idea of writing an article with this title and he laughed. I am aware of the irony. I don’t wear tight pants. I don’t have debt. I can’t get the tasting notes of craft beers or coffees (my taste … [Read more...]
The Truth, the Priesthood, and the Eucharist
Is the Eucharist the Real Presence — Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity — of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or is the Blessed Sacrament a mere symbol of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? This que … [Read more...]
Deacons as Apostles for the New Evangelization
“Whoever believes that Christ the Lord is the way, the truth and the life, whoever knows that the Church is his continuation in history, whoever has a personal experience of all this cannot fail, for this very reason, to become fervently m … [Read more...]
Newman: Conscience as an Ongoing Activity
St. John Henry Newman eloquently presents his idea of conscience as something actively engaged both with the realities of lived experience and with direct apprehension of a particular situation. Logic is part of one’s assessment of the s … [Read more...]
The Bill Atkinson Story: An Interview
First Quadriplegic Priest in Church History
Relatively few people have yet heard the story of Fr. Bill Atkinson, an Augustinian priest who died in 2006 — and the first quadriplegic priest in Church history. Fr. Atkinson is now being considered for canonization, perhaps a new patron s … [Read more...]
Weaning Off the Livestream Mass
“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming o … [Read more...]
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