Archives for 2024

Eucharistic Amazement

We speak of the Eucharist in two senses: the Mass and the Sacrament. The first is the re-offering of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The second is the Blessed Sacrament, which we adore in the tabernacle or monstrance, and receive in … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – July 2024

How Do Sacraments Work? Question from the Reader: What does sacramental causality mean? My parish priest mentioned this concept in our adult education class on the sacraments and never explained it. Can you help me understand it? Answer … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – July 2024

Pope Francis and Mercy: A Dynamic Theological Hermeneutic. By Gill K. Goulding. Reviewed by Fr. Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ. (skip to review) Memoirs. By Jószef Cardinal Mindszenty. Reviewed by Fr. Joseph Briody. (skip to review) Gift and … [Read more...]

Requiescat in Pace: Elenor Schoen, Former Managing Editor

  On April 27, 2024, Elenor Schoen, former managing editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, passed into eternal life. Elenor’s life was an active, fruitful one, involving many forms of service to family, community, and Church. The … [Read more...]

Homilies for June 2024

For the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Tenth Sunday, Eleventh Sunday, Twelfth Sunday, and Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and Sts. Peter and Paul The Most Holy Body and Blood … [Read more...]

Changes to College Priestly Formation: A Defense

Belonging to a few online priest support groups, I have noticed a question gaining popularity: the value of the changes in priestly formation. The concern is focused on the perception that this change creates an additional year of … [Read more...]

The Exaltation of the Cross and the Restoration of Identity

The bronze serpent mounted on a pole in the Book of Numbers (21:9) is one of the Old Testament types cited by Jesus himself: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Jn 3:14) The original … [Read more...]

Are AI-Generated Homilies Suitable for the Edification and Flourishing of the Catholic Faithful?

Approach to the Subject Of late, many ethicists, computer scientists, and media experts have highlighted the emergence of data processing systems known as Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) not only because they promise a … [Read more...]

Three Catholic Preachers: Insights from Interviews with 43 Priests

If you ask laypeople why preaching in the Catholic Church is disappointing, they’ll usually give some variation on the answer, “Well, there’s a priest shortage, so priests are really busy, so they probably don’t have much time for preachi … [Read more...]

Review of Verbum 10

INTRODUCTION By Rev. John P. Cush, STD When I published my first book, The How-to-Book of Catholic Theology (Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2020), I was asked to schedule an interview with Mr. T.L. Putnam, who ran a weekly radio program … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – June 2024

By Rev. John P. Cush, STD, consulting with Fr. Timothy Eck What Can Chalices Be Made Of? Question: My priest uses a Waterford Crystal Chalice and Paten for the celebration of Holy Mass. Is this permitted according to the 2002 General … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – June 2024

The Singing-Masters: Church Fathers from Greek East and Latin West. By Aidan Nichols. Reviewed by Fr. Peter Heasley. (skip to review) Wisdom of Solomon. By Mark Giszczak. Reviewed by Fr. Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ. (skip to review) Made New: … [Read more...]

Homilies for May 2024

For the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the Solemnity of the Ascension, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Pentecost Sunday, and the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Note: Homily for Pentecost Sunday by Rev. John P. Cush, STD; all others for May … [Read more...]

“The Wind Blows Where It Wills”: Understanding the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Second Vatican Council, in its document Gaudium et Spes, teaches us that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light, that Christ fully reveals man to himself. The goal of this article is to shed more … [Read more...]

Early Ratzinger on Revelation, Faith, and Tradition

A Refutation of Ormond Rush

Ormond Rush’s Interpretation of Early Ratzinger’s Commentary At the Synod on synodality, October 23, 2023, Australian theologian Fr. Ormond Rush gave a lecture on the early Joseph Ratzinger’s theology of revelation, faith, and tradition, in … [Read more...]