The words of the centurion, words that we say again and again at every celebration of Holy Mass, are among the truest words that we can ever utter: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul s … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – February 2024
January 26, 2024 by Book Reviews
The Bible and Baptism: The Foundations of Salvation. By Isaac Augustine Morales, O.P. Reviewed by Randall Woodard. (skip to review) The Obscurity of Scripture: Disputing Sola Scriptura and the Protestant Notion of Biblical … [Read more...]
True Thanksgiving
May 26, 2023 by Alissa Thorell
The word “eucharist” may be defined in a few ways, but one of the original translations from the Greek is “thanksgiving” or “to give thanks.”[1. Cf. CCC 1328.] In modern culture, we often associate thankfulness with a sense of being happy … [Read more...]
Prejudices Against Mercy: Is Mercy a Relaxation of Justice?
An Inquiry Guided by St. Thomas Aquinas
July 28, 2022 by Dr. Vincent DeMeo
Contemporary Concerns about Mercy The fact that the Jubilee Year of Mercy called for by Pope Francis in 2016–17 coincided with mass encounters of Middle Eastern refugees in Europe, challenging immigration policy disputes in the United S … [Read more...]
On Humility, or, Christianity as Bull-dung
November 24, 2021 by Julia Hejduk
Note: This essay first appeared on the Christ-Animated Learning Blog with Christian Scholar’s Review. In a post engagingly entitled “Academic Freedom: From Ram-skit to Bull-dung,”[1. Crystal Downing, “Academic Freedom: From Ram-skit to Bu … [Read more...]
Drama and the Divine Mercy: The Life of Fr. Sopocko
October 28, 2021 by Dr. Wanda Skowronska, PhD
While many have heard of the Divine Mercy devotion and Saint Faustina, few have heard of Fr. Michał Sopoćko (So-poch-ko, now Blessed), the Polish priest who first transmitted the Divine Mercy message to the world. He commissioned the Divine … [Read more...]
Heaven in the Heart
June 30, 2021 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
“It seems to me that I have found my heaven on earth, because my heaven is you, my God, and you are in my soul. You in me, and I in you — may this be my motto.” ~ St. Elizabeth of the Trinity What is the greatest earthly love we have known … [Read more...]
Beyond the Realms of Justice
January 28, 2021 by Brent Withers
The purpose of this essay is to explore what light the deeper truths of our faith can shed on the criminal justice system. The light of faith illuminates reality so we can see all things through the life, death, and resurrection of our … [Read more...]
Hope: A Virtue for Our Time
Faith, hope, and charity are the three theological virtues — the three virtues that direct us immediately and rightly to God Himself.[1. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the theological virtues are called “Theological” for three reasons: God is … [Read more...]
Book Reviews — September 2020
September 22, 2020 by Book Reviews
U.S.-Vatican Relations, 1975-1980: A Diplomatic Study. By P. Peter Sarros. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) A Man, a Mission, a Miracle: Brother James Gaffney, F.S.C., and the Transformation of Lewis University. By … [Read more...]
Springs of Mercy in the Coronavirus Desert
June 5, 2020 by Dr. Katie Froula
This period of pandemic has been one of significant suffering and substantial sacrifice. Most notably, we mourn the physical suffering and loss of life of those most deeply affected, and the grief of those who love them. Those of us less … [Read more...]
What Is True Mercy?
February 26, 2020 by Rev. Kenneth M. Dos Santos, MIC
Is mercy merely the affirmation, allowance, or clemency an authority figure extends toward a subject — in light of the subject’s understanding of an act he or she desires to engage in given a specific circumstance? Or, is mercy something muc … [Read more...]
Are Eucharistic Prophecies Being Ignored?
January 18, 2020 by Fr. Stanley Smolenski, SPMA
The startling news of the lack of faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in about 69% of Catholics today should come as no surprise to those familiar with the messages and missions of St. Faustina Kowalska and Dorothy O’Neill … [Read more...]
The Tender Heart
April 22, 2019 by David Vincent Meconi
Where in any classical literature do men rejoice over wounds? In the ancients, injuries and lacerations bring about sorrow, if not revenge. But in the Gospel reading for Divine Mercy Sunday (Jn 20:19–31), we see a new understanding of v … [Read more...]
So You Think You Understand Mercy?
July 31, 2018 by Dr. Wanda Skowronska, PhD
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...]
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