Since the earliest centuries of the Church, Christians have debated the terminal state of unbaptized babies. (This paper will use the term “unbaptized babies/infants” to represent all who die without baptism and without the cognitive abi … [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...]
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...]
Becoming Members of the Suffering Servant
“For This Shall Every Good Man Pray”
September 24, 2021 by Mark Drogin
The final Gospel ends with Jesus teaching us to fish for human souls. The three synoptic Gospels report Jesus saying, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10); the conclusion of the final Gospel describes Jesus i … [Read more...]
Were Adam and Eve Bad Parents?
An Ancient Lesson for Modern Parenting
September 9, 2021 by Kevin Weiss
Were Adam and Eve bad parents? It may seem like a bizarre question, but the challenge of parenting plagues many Catholics who are striving to raise their kids in the Church. Each fall, parents drop their sons and daughters off at college, … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – August 2021
August 16, 2021 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
The Knowledge of the Incarnate God Question: If Jesus is both human and divine, why didn’t he know everything God would know from the moment of birth or soon after? How could Jesus not know the second coming if God the Father knew and they … [Read more...]
Called to the Reverent Stillness at Mass
July 29, 2021 by Christina M. Sorrentino
Why as Catholics should we keep silence when we go to Mass? Because the King of Kings, the Lord of Hosts, Who is God Almighty, is present, truly present with us. We are entering into a “sacred space” set aside for prayer and worship, where w … [Read more...]
A Review Essay of The Devil’s Redemption: A New History and Interpretation of Christian Universalism
December 11, 2020 by Dr. Ralph Martin, STD
This is a very important book. In two large and carefully documented volumes, Dr. McClymond, a professor of theology at St. Louis University, has traced the entire history of Christian universalism from its first appearance in the Gnostic … [Read more...]
Reality, Grief, and Transformation
Lessons from Paul’s Letters to the Church at Corinth
August 28, 2020 by Sister Maria Pascuzzi
Nearly two millennia ago, Paul founded a Christian community in Corinth, a port city characterized by all the diversity and rough-and-tumble usually associated with busy transport hubs. He had spent eighteen months there working to mold a … [Read more...]
Mary Is the Choice of God
Part I of a Marian Triptych
May 19, 2019 by Francis Etheredge
Where do we need to begin with a reflection on Mary, spouse of St. Joseph[1. Cf. St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos.] and Mother of the Lord? On the one hand, in the times in which we live, it could be argued that we need to recover … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – February 2019
January 28, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Why Do We Need Grace? Question: St. Thomas believed that man has an inborn understanding and disposition toward doing the good. What, then, is the purpose of the infusion of grace? Answer: I really do not know where you get the idea … [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...]
On the Relationship Between Merit and Grace
A Thomistic Understanding of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
March 15, 2018 by Paul Chutikorn
There is often much confusion between the relationship of merit and grace and how it plays a part in our lives from a soteriological perspective. This confusion, from both non-Catholics and on behalf of some Catholics themselves, has led to … [Read more...]
Winter Reading 2017
January 20, 2017 by Book Reviews
A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies. Edward T. Oakes, S.J. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2016) 248 pages; $28.00 paperback. Reviewed by Steven J. Meyer, S.T.D. John Lawrence Hill, After the Natural Law: How the Classical … [Read more...]
The Paradox of God’s Predilection
December 20, 2016 by Jonathan Fleischmann
Recently, Pope Francis, like so many of his predecessors in the Chair of St. Peter, has emphasized God’s special predilection for sinners. Indeed, not on one occasion only, but on many occasions, our Pontiff has taken great pains to make t … [Read more...]
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