Editor’s Note: This essay is the second installment of three on synodality and diocesan life. You may find the first installment HERE. Part Two: What Is Synodality? Synodality is the “expression of the Church’s nature, her form, style and … [Read more...]
Articles
The Daily Gift That Is Psalm 95
One of the important ways that the Church gives clergy to stay on track with religious and spiritual growth is the requirement for daily recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours. That requirement makes the practice truly a Divine Office, part … [Read more...]
Forming Domestic Churches: Models of Family-Centered Catechesis
Believing parents, with their daily example of life, have the most effective capacity to transmit the beauty of the Christian faith to their children . . . The greatest challenge in this situation is for couples, mothers and fathers, active … [Read more...]
Christ Our Fellow-Pilgrim
If our Church is a pilgrim Church, then we all are pilgrims, traveling to Heaven by way of death. And if the members of the Church are pilgrims, what of the Head? Is He not a pilgrim too? He walked a path that would end in death, as was … [Read more...]
The Christian Responsibility for the Poor in the Scriptures
“If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.” These words, attributed to St. John Chrysostom’s sermon on St. Matthew 25:31–46, carry in them a powerful challenge: See Christ in others … [Read more...]
A Marian Response to Mater Populi Fidelis
Tribute to God’s Perfect Cooperator
Mater Populi Fidelis has pushed Catholic households, parishes, and dioceses to deeply contemplate the nature and role of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The title of Mary as “Co-redemptrix,” which was an honest theological debate up until the Dic … [Read more...]
“Love One Another”: Synodality and Diocesan Life
Part One: Why Do We Need Synodality? Last June, the General Secretariat of the Synod published the “Pathways for the Implementation Phase of the Synod.” This document, which the Holy Father Leo XIV approved, invites all local Chu … [Read more...]
Preaching Repentance as Participation
There is a legend that I once heard that tells of a mystical vision of the great translator of the Bible, St. Jerome. Visited by the Lord one night in prayer, the Lord asked St. Jerome to give to him a gift. Jerome, perplexed yet honored by … [Read more...]
Theosis: Becoming Gods in This Life
In a previous article published at HPR, I wrote about moral perfection in this life, but I focused on contrasting mortal and venial sins for the purposes of helping us to remove sin from our lives and to grow in holiness.[1. Nate Guyear, … [Read more...]
The Logic of “Encounter” at the Synod on Synodality and Veritatis Splendor
December 29, 2025 by Fr. Anthony Hollowell
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...]
In the One, We Are One: Papal Primacy and the Gift of Authority
December 29, 2025 by Fr. Matthew Gonzalez
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
December 29, 2025 by E. Tyler Graham
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
December 29, 2025 by Cole DeSantis
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
December 29, 2025 by K.E. Colombini
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)
November 26, 2025 by Rev. Joseph Briody
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...]
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