“Read me just one more story!” Maggie lay snuggled beneath the pink floral quilt, her brown eyes imploring me to continue reading from the big book of fairy tales. “You should be asleep already,” I replied. I gave a half-hearted sigh, tur … [Read more...]
Magazine
Questions Answered
Question: Can you explain to me the problem of evil exemplified in the Book of Job? Answer: In answer to your question, I would like to summarize the Commentary on the Book of Job by Thomas Aquinas, which I have recently translated. As … [Read more...]
Homilies for August 2017
August 6, 2017—Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Readings: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/080617.cfm Dn 7:9-10, 13-14; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9; 2 Pt 1:16-19; Mt 17:1-9 “It’s an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.” “Twice the action, and … [Read more...]
The Centrality of Love to the Teaching of Humanae Vitae
Introduction The approach of the 50th anniversary of Humanae vitae gives us the opportunity to once again meditate on the Church’s teaching on human generation, and on the magnificent articulation of this teaching in recent decades, coming … [Read more...]
Using the Means at Hand for Spiritual Growth
When retreatants ask for suggestions about how to deepen their prayer and to grow in their spiritual lives, their directors might have suggestions about some new approach to try. But often it is better to encourage people to work patiently … [Read more...]
When the Church Defames Her Priests
Over the last two decades, the Roman Catholic Church in the United States has reeled under claims of clerical sexual abuse. The claims resulted in extraordinary liability and wide-spread publicity. When bad things happen in any … [Read more...]
A German Philosopher Sees the World
A Review Essay of Josef Pieper’s Not Yet the Twilight: An Autobiography
“The almost lethal crisis of American Catholicism after the second Vatican Council, I was convinced, consisted mainly in the absence of a living theology in the universities. Again and again, the guest (i.e., Pieper) from Europe, the old c … [Read more...]
Of Horses and Men
Over thirty-five years have passed since St. John Paul II issued his encyclical, Laborem exercens. Its key principle—that human labor has priority over raw capital (§12)—was, and remains, a revolutionary proposition. It shouldn’t be. Capita … [Read more...]
A Layman’s Look at Television Commercials
In 1979, the Justice Department filed suit against the National Association of Broadcasters claiming that it was illegal for the members of that trade group to agree to restrict media advertising. The rules of the association would limit … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
Question: Does a homily mean something other than a sermon? Online dictionaries seem to show them to be interchangeable. I have for years now believed homilies to be based on Scripture, and sermons might cover a range of topics, not … [Read more...]
Homilies for July 2017
July 2, 2017 - 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time Readings: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/070217.cfm 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a; Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19; Rom 6:3-4, 8-11; Mt 10:37-42 The gradual conversions of pious saints pale in comparison wi … [Read more...]
Applying Six Offline Models to Online Evangelization
The Internet has now opened up as a wide field for our evangelization. Much of the cultural interchange now takes place via such electronic means. The Church is called to step out into every new forum and evangelize it, yet for the online … [Read more...]
Considering Culpability
Why an Article on this Topic? It all began with a statement made by a student in a class I was teaching for our License in Sacred Theology (STL) Program at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. I was conducting a seminar on the stages of … [Read more...]
The Explosive Growth of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in the Global South, and Its Implications for Catholic Evangelization
Most Catholics are unaware that the heart of global Christianity is moving south—into South America, Africa, and even to Asia.[1. Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming Global Christianity, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2 … [Read more...]
On the Third Day of the New Creation, God Established the Chair of Peter
It was not on accident that John chose to start his Gospel with the words “In the beginning…” A picture paints a thousand words, but in John’s case: three words painted with the power of a thousand reinforcing images. In three words, all the … [Read more...]















Recent Comments