Articles

Homosexuality and Vocational Discernment and Choice

A Call for Evidence-Based, Astute Priestly Discernment in a Framework of Overall Moral Character Development

A seminary that is on-going in the cultivation and the learning of the skills of virtue as an expression of life-in-Christ, and as lived testimony to the Gospel, will be a seminary that is prepared to discern, and to equip, young men for a … [Read more...]

The Holy Family, Celibacy, and Marriage: A Reflection on the “Passage” from the Jewish Rite of Marriage to the Sacrament of Marriage

If the sacrament of marriage came to be specified at a particular moment, then as the renewal of marriage was itself an indication of a new beginning ... it makes sense that the marriage of Mary and Joseph was precisely the implicitly … [Read more...]

The Problem with “Not” Having a Personal Relationship with Jesus

Christian believers know the God who created the Universe ... as a person who reveals himself as Love and Gift, and Personal in his nature. Jesus revealed that the One True God also has an inner life that is not only personal, but … [Read more...]

Mythbuster Extraordinaire: How Benedict Tackled False Christologies

Christians sense there is something radically wrong in trying to put Christ into strange molds, where long-held Christian beliefs about Christ are attacked from all sides. As Benedict stated in his Dunwoodie address to seminarians, to see … [Read more...]

Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones: The History of Anti-Catholic Violence in the U.S.

We do not recall these instances of anti-Catholicism to foster more animosity or violence, but recall them as part of our history, a history that, like so many others, included the targeting of ethnic and religious groups for … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Does the Church state that there is an ideal form of government? What Magisterial status does the teaching of the popes on contraception enjoy?  Can it be changed?  Must we believe it? Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, and A … [Read more...]

“Ressourcement,” “Aggiornamento,” and Vatican II in Ecumenical Perspective

(S)ome interpreters of Vatican II took renewal to be merely a matter of the Church’s adaptation or accommodation to the standards of the modern world ... they took aggiornamento as an “isolated motive for renewal” ... simply adapting to the … [Read more...]

Competing Theories of Christ’s Atonement: Penal Substitution, Economic Transaction, or Obediential Love?

The Passion is understood as an act of a personal God atoning for the personal offense of sin. The personalist understanding of the atonement is deeply linked to the framework of the relationship between Christ and the members of his … [Read more...]

Let More Sunshine in Your Life

A gentle man understands it is wiser to live without anger than to try to make moderate use of it. He knows that as soon as he is surprised by anger, it is better to turn from it than to start a discussion with it. The woman caught in … [Read more...]

Breaking Down the Barriers to Prayer

The heart hardens with a kind of moral crust that excludes compassion for others and prevents communication with others, especially God. Habits of sin, especially the seven deadly sins, keep us focused on our own pleasure, honor, and … [Read more...]

Catholic Ecumenism: Towards an Integration of Faith, Hope, and Charity

The purpose of this one Church is to bring about the supernatural communion of all humanity together in the Spirit, under Christ as head, giving praise to the Father.  Popes Pius XI, Pius XII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope F … [Read more...]

Teaching the Faith: Contributions from Thomas Aquinas

God's love, mediated through the articles of faith, is a communication of God's love speaking to us. Those who hear, and cling to the merciful speech of God, in faith, are the ones who attain this saving knowledge.   "But when the Son of M … [Read more...]

Time to Abandon the Genesis Story?

Legitimate science can never assert that Adam and Eve are impossible. It might claim that they are improbable, but never impossible. God’s omnipotence can always make short work of long odds.   Is the Genesis story of a literal Adam and Ev … [Read more...]

The Glory of the Mass

Obviously, the Mass is a glorious thing. It is the way God continues to feed his people; it is the way Jesus Christ—God made flesh—keeps his promise never to leave us orphans. Those who attend daily Mass have been given an unmatchable gra … [Read more...]

Home and School in American Catholic Life

This essay argues that understanding the historical reasons why Catholic schools and homeschooling arose can help one to see how both may contribute to the revitalization of a Catholic subculture and American society in complementary w … [Read more...]