Pope Francis set forth the vision for his pontificate in his first apostolic exhortation Evangellii gaudium, a clarion call for evangelization through joy in the modern world. A fitting diptych to this first document is his most recent … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – January 2019
A Bloody Habit: A Novel By Eleanor Bourg Nicholson. Reviewed by Fr. John Patrick Cush. (skip to review) Was the Reformation a Mistake?: Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Unbiblical By Matthew Levering and Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Reviewed by Dr. … [Read more...]
Finding Christ in the Beggar, Finding Christ in the Chalice
If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice. – St. John Chrysostom.[1. Attributed to St. John Chrysostom, this may be a short paraphrase of Homily 50.4 on the Gospel of Matthew.] The m … [Read more...]
Book Reviews for Winter 2018
Minor Setback or Major Disaster? The Rise and Demise of Minor Seminaries in the United States, 1958-1983 By Robert L. Anello, MSA. Reviewed by Fr. Scott Jones. (skip to review) One Beautiful Dream: The Rollicking Tale of Family Chaos, … [Read more...]
A Spirituality of Advent
Advent is a time of preparation. It has many parallels to Lent: we don the purple, we suppress the Gloria (awaiting the angels to sing it again for the first time at Midnight Mass), and we are given weeks to allow the Holy Spirit to prepare … [Read more...]
The Necessity of Confession and Its Seal
Any Catholic reading the report of Australia’s Royal Commission of Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse must be appalled by the multiple instances of child abuse in ecclesial institutions perpetrated by priests, religious, and l … [Read more...]
Book Reviews for Late Autumn 2018
The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order By Scott Hahn. Reviewed by Matthew Rose. (skip to review) In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk’s Memoir By Paul Quenon. Reviewed by Matthew K. M … [Read more...]
Alexis de Tocqueville, Subsidiarity, and Clericalism
October 29, 2018 by Fr. Charles Klamut
One of my proudest accomplishments in college was reading Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1830s masterpiece on what really made “democracy” work here, after so many near-misses or never-starts in history. The book was assigned … [Read more...]
Intensive or Extensive Religious Education?
September 18, 2018 by Dr. Michael Brummond
Why do parish religious education programs so often seem to be one-size-fits-all? Whether a parish’s program is dubbed religious education, faith formation, or good ol’ CCD, parish-based catechesis of children tends to be rather coo … [Read more...]
Culture of Encounter in Ferguson
March 30, 2018 by Rev. John O'Brien
Ferguson, Missouri has become a touchstone of contemporary discourse on race relations, usually juxtaposing African American and white populations. Yet, this Missouri town is also home to a Catholic parish that serves, among others, over a … [Read more...]
Corrupt Pastoral Practice Means Corrupt Doctrine
Amoris Laetitia’s Dirty Little Secret
March 30, 2018 by Jeffrey Tranzillo
When Amoris Laetitia (hereafter AL) was first published in March 2016, Pope Francis’s episcopal cheerleaders insisted that the document has introduced no changes to Church doctrine: it merely explores how we are to understand the “pastoral a … [Read more...]
Briefly Revisiting Pre-1983 Canonical Practice for a Better Response to Marriage Issues
March 15, 2018 by Catherine Godfrey Howell, JCD
The juridical significance of mental illness and psychic anomalies in marriage has shifted over centuries from a description of an illicit act to one of invalid consent. Early pronouncements on insane individuals who contracted marriage … [Read more...]
Understanding Anger in Those We Care For
February 24, 2018 by Dr. John Buri
A friend of mine conducted an informal survey of priests in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul to find out which sins were heard most often in the sacrament of reconciliation. No surprise that #1 transgression for men involved … [Read more...]
A Reflection on Youth, College & Young Adult Ministries, Part II
Animating the Xennial, Millennial, and Post-Millennial Generations with the Spirit of Christ
February 24, 2018 by Father Philip-Michael F. Tangorra, STL
In the first part of this two-part article, I had discussed the levels of youth, college, and young adult ministries. My emphasis was on why it is so important, and what is appropriate for each level and age of young people we serve. Now, I … [Read more...]
Geriatric Spirituality
February 24, 2018 by Cornelius F. Murphy
Early in the last century, the specialty of geriatric medicine became an essential part of the American health system. It differed from the standard forms of medical treatment because it was directed toward the physical and psychological … [Read more...]
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