Most Catholics seem to know, whether they accept it or not, what the job of the pope is. He sort of runs the Church from a central location; he is infallible (protected from error) in his serious public pronouncements on the subject of … [Read more...]
Toward a Theology of the Papacy
Reading Between the Lines of the Church Fathers
July 12, 2015 by Dr. William R. Luckey, PhD
Kneeling Ban: Good Liturgy or Loss of Religious Freedom?
July 12, 2015 by Fr. Regis Scanlon, OFMCap
Some religious leaders in the Latin Rite are pressuring Catholics not to kneel at the Consecration, or to genuflect at their reception of the Eucharist. This trend has gained a great deal of traction in recent years, and is causing alarm … [Read more...]
“Go Gaily in the Dark”
Alfred the Great and Preservation of Christian Civilization
July 12, 2015 by Dr. William C. Zehringer, PhD
Epigraph From G.K. Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse (words spoken by Mary, the Mother of God, to a sadly dispirited Alfred the Great): The men of the East may spell the stars, And times and triumphs mark. But the men signed o … [Read more...]
On Understanding Priestly Celibacy: A Suggestion
June 13, 2015 by Fr. James Swetnam, SJ
Discussion has recently arisen about priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church. Such discussion is not new. This time the discussion involves a pope, Pope Francis. The discussion springs from an interview with Eugenio Scalfari (published in … [Read more...]
The Thrill of Anticipation: Encountering God in the Eucharist
May 31, 2015 by Sr. Teresa Benedicta Block, OP
How Previous Ages have seen the Eucharist At one point during the Communist takeover in China, the Communists came to a remote village where Catholicism was lived with great vigor. They imprisoned the local priest in his own rectory, … [Read more...]
“The Indelible Mark”
Sacramental Character in Patristic and Scholastic Theology
May 12, 2015 by Nicholas Senz
The history of the development of doctrine is, in many ways, a history of language. It is a story of the perpetual struggle to adequately communicate the divine realities in human words, or at the very least, to attempt to do so without … [Read more...]
Jansenism and Ireland
February 24, 2015 by Fr. Brian Van Hove, SJ
Too often, writers claim that classic Irish religious culture was “Jansenistic,” or pessimistic, and that Ireland was nothing more than an island with a dark and dreary religious history. Harsh critics point to the recent “scandal” in Galway … [Read more...]
Liturgy in Bede’s World
January 29, 2015 by Daniel J. Heisey, OSB
Time-honored ritual; a space often ornate, if not opulent, used almost exclusively for this purpose; seating by hierarchy; candles; a prayer, perhaps in Latin, perhaps in English; ceremonial robes; a bevy of trained servers; wine; elegant, … [Read more...]
Fall Reading for October 2014
October 29, 2014 by Book Reviews
History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium. James F. Hitchcock (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2012) 584 pages. (Reviewed by Fr. Brian Van Hove, SJ) The Word Made Love: The Dialogical Theology of … [Read more...]
Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones: The History of Anti-Catholic Violence in the U.S.
August 11, 2014 by Fr. David J. Endres
We do not recall these instances of anti-Catholicism to foster more animosity or violence, but recall them as part of our history, a history that, like so many others, included the targeting of ethnic and religious groups for … [Read more...]
Home and School in American Catholic Life
July 10, 2014 by Joseph T. Stuart
This essay argues that understanding the historical reasons why Catholic schools and homeschooling arose can help one to see how both may contribute to the revitalization of a Catholic subculture and American society in complementary w … [Read more...]
Appreciating the Ancient Roots of Church Precepts: The “Didache” Revisited
May 23, 2014 by Deacon Robert F. Gorman, PhD
In all ages and places, members of the Church need guidance and discipline. ... What we learn from consulting the Didache is that the first generations of Christians had many of the same concerns as we do today, and that these were … [Read more...]
The Latest Book Reviews
August 10, 2013 by David Vincent Meconi
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...]
Remembering Who We Are: Recovering from Cultural Amnesia.
March 4, 2013 by Dr. Wanda Skowronska, PhD
The western loss of the larger and smaller narratives which depicted the horizons of life, is a loss of memory on a grand scale, a sign of some deep disorder for those who see it. Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, Western Civilization … [Read more...]
Paul Horgan’s Priests
November 7, 2012 by Daniel J. Heisey, OSB
A Catholic writer is a Catholic writing for other Catholics. ... On another level, a Catholic writer is a Catholic writing for a wider audience, but still drawing upon the biblical, classical, and patristic heritage of Christendom. Soon t … [Read more...]
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