In August of 2022, Bishop Robert Barron took part in an interview with the actor Shia LaBeouf to discuss his conversion to the Catholic faith. LaBeouf’s conversion was influenced in part by his being cast to portray Padre Pio in a movie by A … [Read more...]
The Sweetness of the Yoke of Christ
Hope for those struggling to live out the teaching of Humanae Vitae
My wife, Kristina, and I were married just weeks after our twenty-second birthdays. We were still in our final year of college, young, naive — and in love. Our Catholic faith was always a central part of our lives and our relationship. We t … [Read more...]
A Sacerdotal Summer
St. Ignatius of Loyola likened the “enemy of our human nature” to a cunning military strategist who sussed out each of our weakest defenses and thereby knew exactly where to strike. A war for souls is truly on, both on the individual as wel … [Read more...]
Perfect Love Casts Out All Fear
Lessons from the First Pope
Saint Peter is perhaps the most fascinating, lovable, and relatable apostle. The insight which Scripture provides portrays this very fact, for the Gospels depict an amusing yet awe-inspiring image of a humble and sincere, bold and fearful … [Read more...]
Love’s Oblation
William L. Stidger told about a young lad he had baptized as a baby. The boy grew up, and when World War II began, he joined the Navy. One night his ship came into Boston, and the lad visited his former pastor and friend. During their visit … [Read more...]
So You Think You Understand Mercy?
From the time it was announced, Catholics welcomed the year of Jubilee, the year of Mercy, with open hearts. We recall Pope Francis saying in Misericordiae Vultus (2015) that mercy “reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity” and is t … [Read more...]
Our Lord and His Love
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16) In this world where almost everything is relative, we can know at least one absolute truth: Every human being alive in this world wants and needs to be … [Read more...]
Early Summer Reading
I Burned for Your Peace. Augustine's Confessions Unpacked by Peter Kreeft. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016). Reviewed by Matthew K. Minerd, Ph.L. Desiring a Better Country: Forays in Political Theology by Douglas Farrow. (Montreal &a … [Read more...]
Lumen Fidei and the Revelation of God’s Love as the Foundation of Our Faith
Introduction In his encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis greatly emphasizes the importance of believing in God’s love for us. The prominence of this theme is indicated by the title of the encyclical’s first chapter, "We Have Bel … [Read more...]
Whom the Lord Loveth, He Chastiseth
There are epochs in every life marked by adversity: times when tragedy strikes, injustice reigns, or when overwhelming pain defies equanimity. One has to wonder at the heartbreak caused by human cruelty, frailty, or even just by nature run … [Read more...]
The Excess Of Divine Love
The distance between our humanity and the divinity of God is so incomprehensible that to begin to try and imagine this distance through the eyes of faith, is to catch a glimpse of the unfathomable power of God, and immensity of his love for … [Read more...]
To Listen to the Voice of God
We all have a desire to be listened to and taken seriously. There is nothing more frustrating than not being listened to, when someone does not either look at us when we talk to him, or let us finish our sentences. It leaves us feeling … [Read more...]
What Happens to a Church When the Members Won’t Grow Up?
The problem for the Church is ... the spiritual immaturity of men and of women in the Church, and the lack of guidance they are receiving on how to grow up to spiritual maturity as Catholic Christians. What happens to … [Read more...]
The Latest Book Reviews
Late Summer Reading For August 2013 Reviews for the following books: A MYSTICISM OF KINDNESS: The Biography of “Marie Christine.” By Astrid M. O’Brien. (Scranton: Scranton University Press, 2010). (Reviewed by Rev. John J. Conley, S. … [Read more...]
The Science of Divine Love
The science of divine love is measured along a dimension of intensity and depth, rather than the worldly one of quantity. With this equation, the means for our sanctification is established. All our actions, prayers, and sufferings build up … [Read more...]
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