Archives for 2021

The Emerging Catholic Literary Renaissance

Interview with Poet James Matthew Wilson

“You know, there is, at the moment, an exciting rebirth of Catholic poetry in the United States and it’s full of talented young writers, but even in this interesting cohort James Matthew Wilson, I think, is one of the leading people that you … [Read more...]

St. Joseph “Patris Corde” As a Pastoral Icon

On the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as the patron of the universal church, Pope Francis released the Apostolic Letter “Patris corde,” which means “with a father’s heart.” (1, 2) This is in the spirit of Pope Pius IX’s d … [Read more...]

Joseph the Just

Joseph the Just is but one of the many titles given to the husband of Mary, earthly father to Jesus. As a just Jewish man, he lived an upright life guided by the Torah. As a just man, he respected the custom of his time, foregoing any … [Read more...]

An Annunciation Homily

On this solemnity which celebrates the high-water point in the history of salvation, permit me to explore with you three Latin expressions. 1. Verbum caro factum est [The Word became flesh]. We find this line, of course, in the Prologue … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – March 2021

Is Moral Truth Always Objective? Question: Can a Catholic accept proportionalism in morals? Hans Kung and many other theologians did in the 70s and 80s. There are still moralists who think it is true. Answer: There has been a concerted a … [Read more...]

Philomena, St. John Vianney, and a Blueprint for Converting Parishes

Last fall my wife was five months pregnant with our 11th child. We had already named her Philomena after the great wonder worker and favorite saint of St. John Vianney. This is when we found out that Philomena had a heart defect that would … [Read more...]

Making Parishes Home Sweet Home

Parish-Based Homeschool Cooperatives for the Next Academic Year and Beyond

John Kingdon proposed that public policy change comes about when the three streams of problems, policies, and politics come together at the same time.[1. J.W. Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies (Boston: Little, Brown and … [Read more...]

“The Canon of Issues”: When Catholics Disagree With the Church

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI named the long list of questions that we Catholics confront in contemporary society the “canon of issues.” This canon includes women’s ordination, contraception, celibacy of priests, and remarriage of divorced pers … [Read more...]

Snapdragon: Newman and Distance Education

If you know your John Henry Newman, you know that snapdragon, that beautiful flower capable of growing on stone walls, was the emblem of his stay at Oriel College (he would see the blooms from his window every spring and wrote a poem about … [Read more...]

Review Essay: Hahn and McGinley’s Future of Civilization

In their recent book, It is Right and Just: Why the Future of Civilization Depends on True Religion, Scott Hahn and Brandon McGinley develop a Catholic world and life view, undergirded by an ultimate framework consisting of the truths of … [Read more...]

Discerning the Gift of Priestly Celibacy in Relation to Marriage

Every candidate to the priesthood, even those in the Oriental rites where celibacy is optional, must discern whether God is offering them the “precious gift of priestly celibacy.”[1. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16.] In the Latin rite, priesthood … [Read more...]

On Live Streaming the Mass

In an article written in 1953, the German philosopher Josef Pieper raises an alarm about the TV-transmission of the Mass that, at first, sounds hyperbolic and out of date. He seems horrified at what, for us, has become the norm. He argues … [Read more...]

Homilies for February 2021

For February 7, February 14, Ash Wednesday, February 21, February 28 February 7, 2021 – Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings: Jb 7:1-4, 6-7 • Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 • 1 Cor 9: 16-19 • Mk 1:29-39  bible. … [Read more...]

Preaching Politics from the Pulpit

With the 2020 electoral campaign now behind us, candidates in close races strategize about how to garner votes among religious believers in two and four years. So, too, religious leaders will once again have to brace for political battle in … [Read more...]

The Significance of Signs and Symbols

Our Catholic faith is replete with beautiful signs and symbols that remind us of our heritage, teachings and traditions as followers of Jesus. A Christian sign is something that gives us direction by pointing beyond itself to a spiritual … [Read more...]