Is mass communication like a background noise that is just loud enough to catch our attention and make it difficult for us to concentrate on what we are doing and yet not loud enough so that we can hear clearly what is going on? Are … [Read more...]
Archives for 2019
The Moral Theology of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
November 25, 2019 by John Madigan
St. Thérèse of Lisieux was born in 1873 in France, the youngest of the nine children given to Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. Zelie Martin died while Thérèse was very young, so Thérèse adopted her older sister Pauline as her surrogate mother. T … [Read more...]
Homilies for November 2019
October 30, 2019 by Fr. Charles Fox
For All Saints, All Souls, November 3, November 10, November 17, and Christ the King. Solemnity of All Saints – November 1, 2019 Readings: Rv 7:2–4, 9–14 • Ps 24:1bc–4ab, 5–6 • 1 Jn 3:1–3 • Mt 5:1–12a usccb.org/bible/readi … [Read more...]
A Method of Homily Preparation
October 30, 2019 by Deacon Peter Lovrick
St. Francis de Sales in his excellent book, On the Preacher and Preaching, declares emphatically: “We must adhere to method in all things; there is nothing more helpful to a preacher, makes his preaching more profitable, and is so pleasing t … [Read more...]
The Theological Anthropology of Karol Wojtyla (Pope St. John Paul II)
October 30, 2019 by Dr. William R. Luckey, PhD
Every so often, there appears in history a person who has an effect on the world, that the whole world is changed for the better as a result of their being there. A person of recent memory is Father Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope St. John … [Read more...]
Pastoral Formation as Improvisation
October 30, 2019 by Fr. Kenneth G. Davis, OFM Conv.
Introduction So what does slapping together a sandwich in a soup kitchen have to do with priestly formation? And how does packing medical equipment for a mission trip help anyone become a spiritual father? Or visiting random old dudes at a … [Read more...]
Some Notes for Preachers on the Reading of Ephesians Five in the Lectionary
October 30, 2019 by Fr. Timothy Naples
In my years of presenting basic sacramental theology to engaged couples for pre-Cana, the interpretation of the literal sense of Ephesians five on marriage is something that has frequently occupied me. It was even an endeavor to which I was … [Read more...]
Mass Exodus
October 30, 2019 by John Vrdolyak
We’ve seen it in most of our parishes: empty pews, easy-out parking, friends and familiar faces who we no longer see at Sunday Mass. This mass exodus we have been experiencing over the last few generations is a true crisis of faith — aff … [Read more...]
An Anthropological Reflection on the Church’s Sexual Scandal
Assuaging God for the Rape of Abel
October 30, 2019 by Deacon Thomas Baca
The kind of penitence that must take place to move the Church away from the precipice of destruction is the kind that comes from a much deeper well of ancient understandings of man who is flesh and spirit. We must mine the deeper … [Read more...]
Catholics and Their Interaction with Other Religions in Contemporary Society
October 30, 2019 by Gerard T. Mundy
I. Contemporary Western society’s preponderant secular relativistic thought tendencies contend that all beliefs are to be deemed worthy of being considered as equally true. The philosophical concomitant outgrowths of this thought place s … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – October 2019
October 30, 2019 by Book Reviews
The Smoke of Satan By Philip F. Lawler. Reviewed by Sean J. Donnelly. (skip to review) Mind, Heart & Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome By R.J. Snell and Robert P. George. Reviewed by K.E. Colombini. (skip to … [Read more...]
Homilies for October 2019
October 1, 2019 by Dcn. Michael A. Meyer
For October 6, October 13, October 20, and October 27. 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 6th, 2019 Readings: Hab 1:2–3, 2:2–4 • Ps 95:1–2, 6–9 • 2 Tim 1:6–8, 13–14 • Lk 17:5–10 usccb.org/bible/readings/100619.cfm The Greatest … [Read more...]
Integral Ecology of Man
The Theological Mind of Laudato Si’
September 30, 2019 by Eduardo Echeverria
The crisis in the family has produced a crisis of human ecology, for social environments, like natural environments, need protection. And although the human race has come to understand the need to address conditions that menace our natural … [Read more...]
Abortion Stories
Exploding the Myths of Consequence-Free Sex
September 30, 2019 by Roseanne T. Sullivan
The stories in this article are about several women I've known personally, one fictional woman, and one famous Catholic woman, Dorothy Day, who is being considered for sainthood — all of whom had abortions. Their stories illustrate in v … [Read more...]
Alkaline Hydrolysis
Imprudent in Its Current Context
September 30, 2019 by Fr. Peter Fonseca
For most of Her history, the Catholic Church, with very rare exceptions, has insisted that the bodies of the deceased be interred in graves or other suitable burial sites. In 1963, Pope Paul VI allowed the practice of incineration cremation … [Read more...]
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