Fifth Sunday of Easter—May 3, 2015 Our Utter Dependence on God Purpose: Self-reliance is not a Christian virtue; instead, the Gospel teaches us reliance on God. It is in the midst of our failures and brokenness that we come to know our n … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2015
Dante, the World’s Second Greatest Poet
April 27, 2015 by David Vincent Meconi
Sometime this month back in 1265, exactly 750 years ago, the World’s Second Greatest Poet was born in Florence, Dante Alighieri. Not many realize that Popes Benedict XV and Paul VI issued official Vatican statements lauding Dante for the u … [Read more...]
Best Practices for Clergy Assignment Boards
April 27, 2015 by Jim Lundholm-Eades
This is an assembly of some best practices for clergy assignment boards, gleaned from examples in dioceses across the U.S., encountered while doing numerous assessments of chanceries relative to best practices at the request of their … [Read more...]
The Resolution of Conflicts in Priestly Life and Relationships
April 27, 2015 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
Loving, supportive and mutually encouraging relationships among priests are essential to the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of priests and to their ministry[1. Richard Fitzgibbons. “The Origins, Manifestation, and Resolution o … [Read more...]
Catholic Identity: More than the Tip of the Iceberg
April 27, 2015 by Dr. Jay Boyd, PhD
It is becoming more and more difficult to deny that there is a crisis in the Church. Statistics are available that show a decline in the Church in practically every measurable way, from Sunday Mass attendance, to priestly and religious … [Read more...]
Lumen Gentium
The Church’s Explanation of Her Nature, Mission, and Structure in the World
April 27, 2015 by Jayson M. Brunelle, MEd, CAGS
October 11, 2012, marked the 50th anniversary of the opening session of the Second Vatican Council. The newly canonized Pope St. John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected to the papacy in October of 1958, at the age of 77. Much … [Read more...]
Spring Reading for April 2015
April 27, 2015 by Book Reviews
The Charism of Priestly Celibacy. Edited by John C. Cavadini (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2012) 184 pages; $13.25. (Reviewed by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby) --------- The Classical Moment: Selected Essays on Knowledge and Its Pleasures. Fr. … [Read more...]
The Homiletic Directory
A Guide for Catholic Preaching
April 15, 2015 by Fr. Shane Crombie, CC
In response to a request made by the 2008 Synod of Bishops, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments recently published the Homiletic Directory. The Directory was commissioned to assist homilists in their … [Read more...]
Offering Dignity through Hope, Not Death with Dignity
April 15, 2015 by Stephanie H. To
In February of 2015, Valentina Maureira, a 14-year-old Chilean girl with cystic fibrosis, created a viral video appealing to Chile’s President for assisted suicide.[1. Worland, Justin. “Chilean 14-Year-Old with Cystic Fibrosis Asks to Be All … [Read more...]
On a Small Point of Doctrine
April 15, 2015 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
He (Sir Thomas More) gave up life itself, deliberately; he accepted violent death as of a criminal, not even for the Faith as a whole, but on one particular, small point of doctrine—to wit, the supremacy of the See of Peter. (Hilaire B … [Read more...]
Practicing What We Preach
April 15, 2015 by Fr. Frederick L. Miller, STD
As he struggled with the question of whether or not to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, John Henry Newman expressed his desire to encounter ministers of Christ carrying out the mission of their Lord and his Apostles in … [Read more...]
Not Guilty
The Final Scapegoat and the Easter Verdict
April 15, 2015 by Dusty Gates
Sacrifice has been bound up with biblical religion since the earliest, “pre-historical” chapters of Genesis. Genesis chapters 2 and 3 can be read as one continuous Sabbath day following the Seventh day of rest from Genesis 1, on which Adam a … [Read more...]
Lord, I Would Believe
April 15, 2015 by Gary Knight
In this little expostulation, let us take a closer look at the state of mind of the demoniac’s desperate father, who says, “Lord I believe; help thou my unbelief.” It is not uncommon to recollect this expression of hope in the words, “Lord, … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
April 15, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Pope Francis seems to be placing a renewed emphasis on the teachings of the Church regarding the ethical pursuit of wealth and business. Are there practical norms for the correct use of economic power in a firm? Lumen Gentium was very … [Read more...]
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