Too frequently, practicing Catholics encounter family members and friends who are dismayed by the priestly and hierarchal abuse scandals. They have lost faith in the hierarchy and priests, not knowing whom they can trust. Consequently, they … [Read more...]
Evil as Good and Good as Evil
September 11, 2019 by Brent Withers
“Woe to those who say evil is good and good is evil . . .” (Isaiah 5:20) The response of a person who has their conscience pricked will range from one of irritation to annoyance, impatience, anger, and, depending on the state of the ind … [Read more...]
A Forthright Faith
May 31, 2019 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
In his book Conversion, Donald Haggerty relates the following story: Toward the close of the Spanish Civil War, two soldiers from the Communist Republican faction were returning to their barracks after a night of drinking and cavorting … [Read more...]
The Burning of a Cathedral
The Indestructible and Inconsumable Mysteries that Burn Within
April 17, 2019 by Deacon Thomas Baca
Flames ravage the iconic Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. A priest, along with firefighters, rushes to rescue the Blessed Sacrament as well as the famous relic of the Crown of Thorns. All of this on what might be called Holy or … [Read more...]
The Noonday Devil
January 1, 2019 by Fr. William P. Clark, OMI
The ninety-first psalm speaks of “the scourge that wreaks havoc at high noon.” It also expresses confidence in God’s protection from that scourge, as well as other evils. Based on that psalm some spiritual writers speak of the “Noonday Devil … [Read more...]
The Enriching Complementarity of Faith and Science
January 1, 2019 by Fr. Raphael Christianson, OP
“By faith alone do we hold, and by no demonstration can it be proved, that the world did not always exist,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, implicitly making a claim about the proper relationship between faith and science.[1. Thomas Aquinas, Sum … [Read more...]
Natural and Supernatural Faith
November 14, 2018 by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
Introduction Well-formed Catholics know that we are infused at baptism with sanctifying grace and with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Some know that these virtues reside in potency, and not automatically in actuality. … [Read more...]
The New Pagans and the Church
A 1958 Lecture by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Translated by Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.
January 30, 2017 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
According to religious statistics, old Europe is still a part of the earth that is almost completely Christian. But there is hardly another case in which everyone knows as well as they do here that the statistic is false: This so-called … [Read more...]
To Whom Shall We Go?
August 1, 2016 by Archbishop John J. Myers
(“To whom shall we go?” John 6: 66-69)[1. “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Simeon Peter answered him, … [Read more...]
Sometimes It’s Best to Cover Your Eyes
May 14, 2016 by Roseanne T. Sullivan
After best-selling author, conservative blogger, and frequent First Things contributor, Rod Dreher, converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, he published many pieces about why he left the Catholic Church. In his book, How Dante Can Save … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
November 16, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Could Jesus perform miracles of his own accord? Did he not empty himself and rely on the Father as we do by faith? We are to have faith to move mountains. What better way to make the point than Jesus praying in thanksgiving before … [Read more...]
Lord, I Would Believe
April 15, 2015 by Gary Knight
In this little expostulation, let us take a closer look at the state of mind of the demoniac’s desperate father, who says, “Lord I believe; help thou my unbelief.” It is not uncommon to recollect this expression of hope in the words, “Lord, … [Read more...]
Memories Make the Future
September 9, 2014 by Fr. John Navone, SJ
The community of faith throughout the entire biblical tradition has been called to tell its story to others. Jesus affirmed that those who love him will keep his word and share it with others (Jn 14:24)... Old Testament prophet's … [Read more...]
The Giver and the Gift
June 26, 2014 by Fr. Charles Kestermeier, SJ
God is himself the first, and absolutely the most important gift that God gives to us, which implies a second gift: God gives us our very selves. One thing that people seem to do in all cultures is to give gifts, and this is always … [Read more...]
Believing in the Justice of the Cross: Jesus Christ as the Alpha and Omega of Faith
June 11, 2014 by Fr. Lorenzo Rossetti
Adhering with love to the Lord, Victim and Priest, Obedient and Merciful, we embrace him in the real and veiled presence of the broken Bread, and we celebrate the victory against evil, sin, and death. This essay focuses on the … [Read more...]
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