Every year the Biblical readings that are proclaimed in the Church’s liturgy throughout the Lenten and Easter seasons recount the dramatic transformation that takes place in the lives of Christ’s first disciples and followers as they wit … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – December 2024
Rethinking Cooperation with Evil: A Virtue-Based Approach. By Fr. Ryan Connors. Reviewed by Fr. Joseph Briody. (skip to review) John Tracy Ellis: An American Catholic Reformer. By Thomas J. Shelley. Reviewed by Fr. Ryan Connors. (skip to … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – November 2024
Understanding Heresies: Their Nature and History Question: Dear Father Cush, I was the person who asked if there were any Trinitarian theology before the First Council of Nicaea. Thank you for your very thorough answer last month, but I am … [Read more...]
Notes on a Catholic Ecumenical Perspective of the Sacramental Life of the Church
Paper presented at a bi-annual meeting of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, of which I am a member, June 5, 2023, Colorado Springs. If anyone says that these seven sacraments are so equal to one another that one is not in any way of … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – October 2024
The Trinity and Valid Baptism Q: Dear Father Cush, My coordinator of faith formation accepted someone who was a Mormon as a “candidate” for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults in our parish program. As the pastor of the parish, I ha … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – September 2024
Question from the Reader: My priest at Mass said that the number of the Sacraments was not determined until the Council of Trent. I was told since I was a child in religion class that Our Lord Jesus established seven sacraments in the … [Read more...]
Twenty-five Years After the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
How an Ecumenical Achievement Offers Catechetical and Pastoral Opportunities
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). The declaration, first signed on October 31, 1999 by representatives of the Catholic Church[1. The Catholic signatories were … [Read more...]
Counsels vs. Commands in Vocational Discernment
Anxiety. Fear. These words frequently come up in commentary about young Catholics and vocational discernment.[1. For example, S. E. Greydanus, “Rethinking Vocational Discernment,” HPR, June 23, 2023, www … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – February 2024
The Bible and Baptism: The Foundations of Salvation. By Isaac Augustine Morales, O.P. Reviewed by Randall Woodard. (skip to review) The Obscurity of Scripture: Disputing Sola Scriptura and the Protestant Notion of Biblical … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – November 2023
Science at the Doorstep to God: Science and Reason in Support of God, the Soul, and Life After Death. By Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. Reviewed by Thomas P. Sheahen. (skip to review) The Faith Once for All Delivered: Doctrinal Authority in … [Read more...]
Sacred God, Sacred Church
The Catholic Church and the Hermeneutic of Mystery
In the religion of the Old Testament, Hebrew knowledge and experience of covenantal obligations inspired God’s people to treat his name as particularly sacred and holy, and to refer to it as the great, the only, and the glorious and t … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – March 2023
Ponder: Contemplative Bible Study for Year C. By Mahri Leonard-Fleckman. Reviewed by Fr. Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ. (skip to review). Christopher Dawson: A Cultural Mind in the Age of the Great War. By Joseph T. Stuart. Reviewed by Thomas V. … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – November 2022
Faith of Our Fathers: A History of True England. By Joseph Pearce. Reviewed by K.E. Colombini. (skip to review) The WillPower Advantage: Building Habits For Lasting Happiness. By Tom Peterson and Ryan Hanning. Reviewed by Mary R. … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – July 2022
The Restless Flame, Daniel Lord, S.J.: Thinking Big in a Parochial World! By Stephen A. Werner. Reviewed by Steven R. McEvoy. (skip to review) The Scandal of the Scandals. By Manfred Lütz. Reviewed by Robert Rooney. (skip to r … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – June 2022
Can Holy Water Be Mixed? Question: Can you replenish holy water that you have for personal use by adding to it with regular water when it gets low? Answer: First it is important to discuss just what holy water is and what it signifies. … [Read more...]
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