In the religion of the Old Testament, Hebrew knowledge and experience of covenantal obligations inspired God’s people to treat his name as particularly sacred and holy, and to refer to it as the great, the only, and the glorious and t … [Read more...]
Articles
Sacred God, Sacred Church
The Catholic Church and the Hermeneutic of Mystery
April 26, 2023 by J.T. Knox
Preaching the Heart of the Gospel
April 26, 2023 by Fr. Brent Bowen
Although I grew up in a nominally Catholic home, neither of my parents was particularly religious. We attended Sunday Mass occasionally as a family, but as we got older the demands of family life, sports, and other obligations quickly began … [Read more...]
Stuck in Neutral: When Parish Evangelization (Still) Fails
April 26, 2023 by Susan Windley-Daoust
It has been five years since the four-day United States Convocation of Catholic Leaders on Evangelization was held in Atlanta. It has been nine years since Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, was … [Read more...]
Why Doesn’t Holy Communion Always Seem to “Work”?
St. Thomas Aquinas and Ronald Knox on Objective Grace and Subjective Dispositions at Work in the Reception of the Sacrament
March 29, 2023 by Fr. Charles Fox
For anyone with more than a passing acquaintance with Holy Communion, questions emerge about its efficacy that do not admit of easy answers. The Eucharist is immensely powerful, so why does it not seem to make more of a difference in every … [Read more...]
What Many Priests No Longer Believe
March 29, 2023 by Fr. Robert McTeigue
Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. Loosely translated: “The norm of prayer governs the norm of belief; the norm of belief governs the norm of living.” Many priests nowadays (including myself) are asking, “What if there’s deficient lex in … [Read more...]
Altar Server Training and Ars Celebrandi after the Pandemic
March 29, 2023 by Fr. Timothy Smith
Note: This article was drafted in spring 2021 and completed and submitted to Homiletic & Pastoral Review in October 2022. In the June 2022 Apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi, Pope Francis issues the clarion call for liturgical … [Read more...]
Here is The Victim Who Vanished in Word
March 29, 2023 by Kevin Wells
A short time ago, in the Maryland countryside, a priest the humble folk say bears a resemblance to Maximilian Kolbe turned on the ignition of his old silver pick-up and eased out of the parking lot of his St. Michael’s parish. He shifted i … [Read more...]
On Becoming A Joyful People
February 24, 2023 by Peter McGregor
In Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis expresses his desire for spirit-filled evangelizers, ones who are full of “fervor, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction,” people who are eager to enter into an eva … [Read more...]
Magdalene in the Desert
February 24, 2023 by Brandon P. Otto
By Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle Translated by Brandon P. Otto Note It is an ancient legend in France that, after the Resurrection, the “Three Maries” — Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacob (the mother of James and John), and Mary Salome — trave … [Read more...]
The Bride’s Response to the Bridegroom
Understanding the Call to Repent
February 24, 2023 by Christina Rine
How should one consider the question, “Should the Church repent”? It is a complex question when being considered in both the light of the holiness of the Church and in the darkness of the sinfulness of her members through pre … [Read more...]
God and Man in the Apocalypse of the Cross
February 24, 2023 by Philip Primeau
The presentation of our holy faith is often hobbled by a failure to demonstrate the organic unity of its constituent parts, a problem much lamented by Pope Francis, who has observed that Christianity is frequently reduced to a “disjointed . … [Read more...]
Pope Benedict XVI Has Found What He’s Been Looking For
January 27, 2023 by E. Tyler Graham
In a relatively recent children’s animated movie sequel, “Sing 2” (yes, the sequel to Sing!), the producers succeeded in getting the famous lead singer “Bono” (from the band U2) to be the voice for the main hero of the movie. Bono is voice-o … [Read more...]
Before and After the First Papal Tweet
How Benedict XVI Promoted “Communio” in a World of Social Communications
January 27, 2023 by Fr. Thomas F. Dailey
Originally presented at a conference on “Catholicity as Gift and Task” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Communio, at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry (Rochester, NY) on October 2, 2022. The historic date was 12/12 … [Read more...]
Hedging the Heart
Five Preconditions of an Authentic Human Formation
January 27, 2023 by Fr. John Nepil
Human formation — that pillar of seminary life often affirmed and rarely understood. Certainly, we believe it to be the basis of all priestly formation, and remain convinced by the words of St. John Paul II: “The priest should mold his huma … [Read more...]
The Patterns of Heavenly Things
Sacredness and Beauty in the Liturgy
January 27, 2023 by Kaleb Hammond
The history of the Catholic Church has produced an extensive tradition of sacred art, especially in the fields of painting, music, and architecture. Although this tradition has expanded and diversified over time, with variations across … [Read more...]
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