Teaching Theology to Gen Z

Three Lessons from Henri de Lubac

Each fall, as I prepare to stand before a classroom of undergraduates, required as they are to take my Introduction to Catholic Theology course, I reconsider how to teach the faith most effectively. This task has become more challenging … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – January 2024

Ecclesial Exegesis: A Synthesis of Ancient and Modern Approaches to Scripture. By Gregory Vall. Reviewed by D. Malachi Walker. (skip to review) God’s Call is Everywhere: A Global Analysis of Contemporary Religious Vocations for Women. By … [Read more...]

Toward Evangelization of Creators of the Christian Culture

Saint John Paul II, during his pontificate of nearly twenty-seven years, had two main streams of thought. They can be characterized as the preservation of the Christian heritage and the transformation of contemporary secular culture through … [Read more...]

The Very Stones Would Cry Out

Architecture and Evangelization

In his 1998 work, Architecture in Communion, architect Steven Schloeder offers for consideration a twofold problem: first, the problem of how to design for contemporary, post-Vatican II liturgy, and second, what, if anything, should a … [Read more...]

Preachers of the ERD

Deacons must be comfortable with proclaiming the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. The wisdom of the ERD is not commonly shared with Catholics in the pews. The United States Conference of Catholic … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – July 2023

In the School of the Word: Biblical Interpretation from the New to the Old Testament. By Carlos Granados and Luis Sánchez-Navarro. Reviewed by Sr. Mary Micaela Hoffmann, RSM. (skip to review) Jesus Becoming Jesus (Volume 3): A T … [Read more...]

Sacrificing Sacrifice

In the midst of the Eucharistic Revival, Dr. Lawrence Feingold, seminary professor at Kenrick-Glennon and author of (among many other things) The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion, suggests that we may be missing … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – June 2023

As a Priest Thinks, So He Is. Ed. by Beth Rath McGough and Patricia Pintado-Murphy. Reviewed by M. Ross Romero, S.J. (skip to review) Pray, Think, Act: Make Better Decisions with the Desert Fathers. By Augustine J. Wetta, O.S.B. Reviewed … [Read more...]

Pope Benedict XVI Has Found What He’s Been Looking For

In a relatively recent children’s animated movie sequel, “Sing 2” (yes, the sequel to Sing!), the producers succeeded in getting the famous lead singer “Bono” (from the band U2) to be the voice for the main hero of the movie. Bono is voice-o … [Read more...]

Before and After the First Papal Tweet

How Benedict XVI Promoted “Communio” in a World of Social Communications

Originally presented at a conference on “Catholicity as Gift and Task” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Communio, at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry (Rochester, NY) on October 2, 2022. The historic date was 12/12 … [Read more...]

How Appealing to “Inclusivity” Is Detrimental

On February 7, 2022, Brantly Millegan was fired as the director of operations for Ethereum Name Services (ENS). The cause for his termination was a Tweet that he posted in 2016 that expressed Catholic moral teachings in blunt form. It read: … [Read more...]

Can We Be Recognized As Christians?

Practicing Love in Contentious Times

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Christ thus established love as the essential identifying mark of those who belong to Him. Love reveals the Christian; conversely, if we do … [Read more...]

It’s All Just a Mathematical Equation

The devil wants to divide us. It’s as simple as that. As simple as a mathematical equation, but one that has devastating consequences. As Catholic Christians, who have been taught that evil spirits flee “in the name of Jesus,” we should k … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – June 2022

Can Holy Water Be Mixed? Question: Can you replenish holy water that you have for personal use by adding to it with regular water when it gets low? Answer: First it is important to discuss just what holy water is and what it signifies. … [Read more...]

Flannery Was Right

The Problem of Nihilism Within the Catholic Church

In a letter to Betty Hester dated August 28, 1955, Flannery O’Connor wrote: “If you live today you breathe in nihilism. In or out of the Church, it’s the gas you breathe.”[1. Flannery O’Connor, The Habit of Being, hereafter HB (New York: Far … [Read more...]