Premise: Searching for Meaning One of the basic notions that we must take into consideration when reading Scripture is the complexity of meaning(s) “words” can communicate. Why? The divine revelation manifested in the written word resides i … [Read more...]
Walking Through the “Orchard” of Scripture
Encountering a Rabbinical Tradition of Biblical Reading with Christian Eyes
December 22, 2022 by Fr. Dempsey Rosales Acosta, SSL, STD
Ministering Like the Prodigal Trinity
May 27, 2022 by Matthew Kappadakunnel
Deep into the weeds of Catholic social media, we can easily fall into the mindset of categorizing people as sinners. Whether the issue is abortion, racism, LGBTQ, gender or another lightning rod topic, we are often inundated with views on … [Read more...]
The Eucharist: The Prima Via of Divinization
May 27, 2022 by Fr. Matthew Gonzalez
The current state of the Church in our contemporary age, and those salient points to which she sets her vision, would suggest that the Eucharist remains at the core of all her efforts and activity.[1. Catechism of the Catholic Church (Citta … [Read more...]
What Would Augustine Say?
September 9, 2021 by Daniel J. Heisey, OSB
From the days of Herodotus, in the fifth century before Christ, when in Book 1 of his Histories he had two sixth-century men, Solon of Athens and Croesus of Lydia, meet who chronologically could not have met, it has been appropriate for … [Read more...]
Early Theologies of Purgatory
April 9, 2021 by Dr. David W. T. Brattston
How can a loving and merciful God send a person into endless torture in hell? Actually, He does not. They send themselves there. The only unpleasantness to which He channels them is purgatory, where they have the hope of rising to … [Read more...]
Unity and Peace
March 26, 2021 by Rev. Kenneth M. Dos Santos, MIC
Is it possible to obtain an everlasting peace through purely human efforts and means? Will men, in and of themselves, ever possess the ability to provide all races and cultures with perpetual peace and unity? Is eternal peace and the … [Read more...]
Confirmation in the Church Fathers
April 30, 2019 by Brandon P. Otto
It has been said — though I know not by whom — that Confirmation is “a sacrament in search of a theology.” Confirmation preparation programs often emphasize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and state that Confirmation, in some way, complet … [Read more...]
“Many Shall Come from the East and the West”
A Comparison of the Preaching of Augustine and John Chrysostom
February 12, 2019 by Sr. Mary Dominic Pitts, OP
Introduction “Many shall come from the East and the West and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 8:11). The two great preachers of the fourth and fifth centuries — John Chrysostom, Bisho … [Read more...]
Patience a Spiritual Sign
Pope Francis and Tertullian on Patience
January 17, 2019 by Fr. Brendan Lupton
Pope Francis set forth the vision for his pontificate in his first apostolic exhortation Evangellii gaudium, a clarion call for evangelization through joy in the modern world. A fitting diptych to this first document is his most recent … [Read more...]
A Surprising Beatitude
Dashing the Little Ones upon the Rock
January 1, 2019 by Kevin M. Clarke
In a 2007 class on the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesuit Fr. James Swetnam passed along to us two words of wisdom from German Biblical scholar Joachim Jeremias. The first word: read a chapter of New Testament Greek every day. Indeed, very wise … [Read more...]
The Mystagogical Tradition
July 31, 2018 by Brandon Harvey
“Mystagogy” is a word that some parishes hear during Easter Time, and is often associated with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Yet, a proper understanding of mystagogy provides inspiration and wisdom, not only for cat … [Read more...]
Lessons from a Patristic Homily
May 18, 2018 by Brandon P. Otto
In learning how to craft homilies, it is worth studying past master homilists; from these masters, we can learn masterful techniques. Reading those who wrote in one’s own native tongue is, of course, a necessary thing: Newman would probably … [Read more...]
Confession of Faith, Eucharist and Martyrdom
With Special Reference to Early Church Fathers of the East
September 27, 2017 by Bishop Abraham Mar Julios
Introduction[0. Paper presented at Theological Colloquium held at St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary, Trivandrum (Jan. 13, 2017). ] The Church of the first millennium was born of the blood of the martyrs: “Sanguis Martyrum - Semen Chr … [Read more...]
The Rich Man and Lazarus: a Modern and Patristic Reflection
March 9, 2017 by Arthur G. Quinn
Lazarus at the Rich Man's Door by James Tissot In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the parable begins with a description of the rich man and his life of luxury and excess. He is portrayed as a member of the elite, … [Read more...]
A Vast Depth of Meaning: The Sea in Luke and Acts
May 28, 2016 by Ambrose Doborozsi
The sea has a special appeal to the human heart. It has occupied our imaginations since the earliest myths: Odysseus, tossed about on the sea; Aeneas, exiled by Juno's hatred across the deep; and the destructive, yet life-giving cycle of … [Read more...]
Recent Comments