Encountering Christ’s Love in the Sacraments

In every way, the sacraments are about God’s love, fully revealed in Jesus Christ. In them, Jesus makes Himself present as the one who loves us “to the end” (Jn 13:1). In each Sacrament, He says: “I love you; I have given my life for you (Jn … [Read more...]

Giving Nature Its Due—Even in Sacramental Matrimony

One of the “hot” debates in Catholic circles this past decade has been the so-called “pure nature” debate. The basic question underlying the whole topic is: “How should we parse the interactions, so to speak, between nature and grace, the na … [Read more...]

Early Fall Reading

The Concept of Woman: Volume III: The Search for Communion of Persons, 1500-2015. By Sister Prudence Allen, R.S.M., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016. 546 pages. Reviewed by Joshua M. Evans, Ph.D. Revelation. Catholic Commentary on Sacred … [Read more...]

The Centrality of Love to the Teaching of Humanae Vitae

Introduction The approach of the 50th anniversary of Humanae vitae gives us the opportunity to once again meditate on the Church’s teaching on human generation, and on the magnificent articulation of this teaching in recent decades, coming … [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...]

Early Spring Reading

  Jennifer Roback Morse & Betsy Kerekes, 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person (Notre Dame, IN.: Ave Maria Press 2016), 127 pp. $13.95. Paperback. ISBN-13: 978-1-59471-671-3. Reviewed by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. Raïssa M … [Read more...]

Do men and women no longer admire and trust each other?

As it is posed, the question is too absolute. And I would not give any absolute answer to it. However, it does imply something; and yes, I think there is less admiration and trust between the two sexes than before. Nevertheless, there … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Question: The Catechism says: "Each and every sexual act in a marriage needs to be open to the possibility of conceiving a child." Many elderly couples, as well as couples in which the man suffers from ED, believe that this teaching … [Read more...]

A Different Perspective on Amoris Laetitia

Because so much of what has been written about Amoris Laetitia has concerned what is considered the controversial eighth chapter on divorced and remarried Catholics, and others living in irregular situations, the primary purpose, beauty, … [Read more...]

Holy Communion and the Importance of Marriage

As is now widely known, there have been calls from some high-ranking prelates, chief among them Cardinal Walter Kasper, to reconsider the Catholic Church's practice with regard to holy communion for Catholics who have validly married but … [Read more...]

Amoris Laetitia, the Human Person, and the Meaning of Marital Indissolubility

Since the release of Pope Francis’s Post-Synodal Apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, on April 8, 2016, numerous articles and statements disagree as to whether the pope either has opened the possibility of admitting civilly divorced and r … [Read more...]

The Trinity, Sexual Complementarity, and Authentic Marriage

One of today’s most pressing errors is concerned with the confusion about the human person as male and female, and the increasing rejection by Christians of the revealed truth about authentic marriage. This is significant because it affects … [Read more...]

Amoris Laetitia: A Deceptive Joy

The recent publication of Pope Francis' document on the family and married life, Amoris Laetitia ("Joy of Love") has caused consternation, confusion, and deep anguish among Catholics. They wonder: Are the Church’s timeless teachings on m … [Read more...]

Being Single in the Church

Pastoral Approaches to a Growing Demographic

In the 2015 film, Brooklyn, there are a number of scenes in which young Eilis Lacey, a recent immigrant from Ireland, goes to several dances organized by her local church. There, she and her friends are courted by young gentlemen, one of … [Read more...]

And the Two Become One Flesh

A Model for Marriage and the Universal Church

The world is facing a crisis: the family, seen as the fundamental unit of society since the days of Cicero and Aristotle, is now crumbling at its very foundations. But this is not only a crisis for the world, as the secularization of the … [Read more...]