Over the next three years (2025–2028), the Church is undergoing a three-year implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality. The Holy See has cited a variety of goals for this phase, but the following is a general summary: “The imp … [Read more...]
Articles
In the One, We Are One: Papal Primacy and the Gift of Authority
Since its foundation, the Church has grappled with the nature and exercise of hierarchical authority, especially in relation to the Petrine office. Though much has been articulated about apostolic succession and the primacy of Peter, it is … [Read more...]
The Witness of the Teacher: Gravissimum Educationis at 60
The year 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of a number of documents from the Second Vatican Council. While Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes, and Dei Verbum (and even Dignitatis Humanae) often take the spotlight (for very good reasons) when … [Read more...]
Interreligious Dialogue: A Brief Reflection on What Is at Stake
Interreligious Dialogue: Between Religious Studies and Syncretism Thich Nhat Hahn, besides being one of the major spiritual and intellectual leaders of Zen Buddhism in Southeast Asia, one of the popularizers of Buddhism in the West, and … [Read more...]
The Value of Literature to Priests
Among the thousands upon thousands of words written after the Easter Monday passing of Pope Francis, there were a few mentions of his thoughtful reflection in July 2024 on the role of literature in the formation of priests — and its broader … [Read more...]
Pope Leo’s Renewed Call to Priestly Holiness
“Aspire to holiness . . . do not settle for less” (Leo XIV)
Called to Holiness; Called to be Saints This is a very simple reflection on holiness, a topic given renewed attention by Pope Leo in recent months. The whole Christian life is a “quest for holiness.”[1. Saint John Paul II, Letter to Pri … [Read more...]
The Gratuitous Nature of God
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:18) Not because of any need on his part, but because of the effusive nature of … [Read more...]
The Gospel Foreshadowed: Joseph and Judah in Genesis
Genesis 44 and 45 has it all: a foreshadowing of the atonement, forgiveness, providence, and a model for how to deal with suffering. This mini-gospel from the first book of the Bible anticipating the Gospel of Christ is a roadmap detailing … [Read more...]
“That He Might Be Made Known”
John the Herald According to the Gospel of John and Matthias Grünewald
Years ago, inspired by artist Matthias Grünewald’s Crucifixion piece and Benedict XVI’s insights, I wrote an article discussing the significance of the priesthood of John the Baptist and its exemplarity for priests and bishops, particularly … [Read more...]
The Passover Rhyme of the Mass
What did he mean when he said, “Do this”? It was a simple and direct question when my brother-in-law asked it: What did Jesus mean by “this” when he said, “Do this in memory of me”? Why did he say about the bread, “Take this, all of you, … [Read more...]
Can the Creed Be Proven from Scripture?
Implications for Ecumenical Dialogue
October 27, 2025 by Barnabas Aspray
Last year at the annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, a motion was put forward to add the Nicene Creed to its doctrinal statement.[1. Mark Wingfield, “Motion will ask SBC to add … [Read more...]
Truth in Dying: The Perfection of the Virtues in a Dying Christian
October 27, 2025 by Anthony Hernandez
This article presents a Thomistic portrait of how the virtues of the Christian life come to their full flowering in the person who is dying in the state of grace. Please note that the article is not only concerned with the infused virtues, … [Read more...]
“As We Await the Redemption of Our Body”
October 27, 2025 by Deacon Peter Trahan, MATh
Part 1: Status Quaestionis Reflecting on inordinate desire and making a distinction between desire for things that are pleasurable to the senses (bodily) and desire for things pleasurable to the psyche, such as ambition or avarice, it is … [Read more...]
Loving through Illness: Mental Illness and the Beauty of Suffering
October 27, 2025 by Sara Grace
Why do some speak so strongly against mental illness and those who suffer with it? With mental illness as common today as many other illnesses, one questions why there is a negative stigma connected to illnesses of the mind. We, as human … [Read more...]
Homiletic Questions
September 29, 2025 by Deacon Peter Lovrick
The Church has called its clergy to preach the Word for centuries. It did not, however, lay down in a definitive way just how to do that. Preaching adapted, as it should, to the needs of the time. Ways of preaching in the patristic, … [Read more...]
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