Nearly everyone has experienced the principle behind the game of “telephone”: i.e. frequent repetition from one person to another lends itself to distortions. On a larger scale, this means that the most popular people, stories, etc. are oft … [Read more...]
Articles
Climbing the Mountain of Carmel
In the thirteenth century, a small band of lay hermits settled on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Israel. They were former pilgrims, merchants, penitents, and soldiers who wanted to live a simple, quiet life centered on the Gospels and … [Read more...]
Unfolding Grace: Summarizing and Comparing the Natural Law, the Old Law, and the New Law
Introduction St. Thomas Aquinas, in his summa theologiae, distinguishes three types of law: the Natural Law, the Old Law, and the New Law. While there are more laws than these, these particular laws each present not only truth and law, but … [Read more...]
The Angry Prophet and God’s Hesed
A Psychological Critique of Jonah
Historical questions aside, the book of Jonah lends itself to a plurality of interpretations and resists simple explanations. As with Job, one of the many messages of Jonah is that we do not know how God works.[1. One should recall Isaiah … [Read more...]
Maximizing the Benefits of Christ-Centered Counseling
Introduction Christ-centered counseling is a cyclical step-by-step procedure designed to initiate, promote, and maintain positive, healthy change. It holds out hope that gains made in counseling can be retained without serious backsliding. … [Read more...]
Priestly Ministry by Way of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Clergy today could use a boost. Ministerial demands, coupled with decreasing numbers, can be crippling. Diocesan demographic predictions and parish planning strategies show little relief in sight. It may sound like a diversion (or a … [Read more...]
Singing and Believing: Contemporary Communion Hymns and the True Presence
I remember as a child hearing our parish priest preaching about the many studies that show that a supermajority of those who call themselves Catholic do not believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. All this time … [Read more...]
Eucharistic Reverence
Introduction – The Silence Before the Mystery During the Church’s infancy, when the faithful gathered in the catacombs, they came not for a symbol or a story, but rather for the living Christ who had promised, “My flesh is true food and my … [Read more...]
Bring Back Communion Under Both Species
“It is vital, then, that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them, for the sake perhaps of practicality or convenience, lest they be corrupted by the mentality of consumerism and utilitarianism.” (Pope Leo XIV, Address to Par … [Read more...]
Reading the Book of Revelation: A Liturgical Cosmology Understanding
Before offering a liturgical synopsis of Revelation, it may be helpful for the reader to move through two “Reading Guide” sections: (i) General points in reading Scripture, and (ii) General points to remember in reading the book of Rev … [Read more...]
The Dallas Charter and the Mind of Christ
April 27, 2026 by Fr. Andrew Brinkman
The Second Vatican Council cast a vision of the bishop as father, co-worker, and friend of his priests, a vision which Pope Francis echoed on the 160th anniversary of Saint John Vianney’s death when he addressed the world’s priests with a wo … [Read more...]
The Sanctity of the Flesh Betrayed
A Refutation of Alkaline Hydrolysis in Light of Catholic Doctrine
April 27, 2026 by Stephen P. Robertson
Introduction: The Sacred Trust of the Body “Membra mortuorum honoranda sunt, in fide et spe resurrectionis.” “The bodies of the dead must be treated with honor, in faith and hope of the resurrection.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, 230 … [Read more...]
“Open the Doors” at Pentecost
April 27, 2026 by Patrick A. Gill
Peace in the Forgiveness of Sins “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst.” Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the … [Read more...]
A Sermon for Trinity Sunday
April 27, 2026 by Fr. John M. McDermott, SJ
One often hears how priests hesitate and tremble on Trinity Sunday as they confront the necessity of composing a sermon which sounds and expounds the most profound mystery of reality, the infinite God’s interior life which has been revealed … [Read more...]
Seek and Affirm the Good
A Pathway to Transformation in Christ
April 27, 2026 by Samantha Mattheiss
It’s easy to grow frustrated with the shortcomings of others — when parishioners only attend Mass on Christmas and Easter, or when students neglect their homework. There’s something in human nature that notices and attends to problems — and … [Read more...]
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