Pope Francis and the Church’s Mission Today

Note: Archbishop George Leo Thomas gave the following address on October 16, 2023, at the conclusion of the Mass of Canonical Establishment of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. On June 29th, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, I received the … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – October 2024

Exegetical Journeys in Biblical Greek: 90 Days of Guided Reading. By Benjamin L. Merkle. Reviewed by D. Malachi Walker. (skip to review) He Gave Us So Much: A Tribute to Benedict XVI. By Robert Cardinal Sarah. Reviewed by Dr. Brandon … [Read more...]

Equip and Deploy the Sleeping Giant

Foundational Formation for Lay Catholics to Become Effective Evangelizers

St. Paul teaches that “truth is in Jesus.” What then is the lived consequence for people who meet Jesus and choose to give their lives to him? Paul goes on to explain that those people should “put away the old self” of their lives before the … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – August 2024

Worthy Lamb: An Exegetical-Spiritual Commentary on John’s Apocalypse. By Andreas Hoeck. Reviewed by Fr. Joseph Briody. (skip to review) True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church. By Francis X. Maier. Reviewed by Fr. St … [Read more...]

The Formation of Altar Servers for the Current Times

Note: I would like to thank Br. Jonathan Ibarra, M.Id for his insights into this topic. Many dioceses in the United States and around the world are facing a decrease in the number of altar servers and a lack of formation of the altar … [Read more...]

Embodiment and Integral Witness

Pope Francis’ Early Teaching on Catechesis

As a bishop, Jorge Bergoglio communicated profound truth in a simple manner. In words as in deeds he embodied the goal of total identification: “My people are poor and I am one of them” was a plain fact that undergirded his episcopal min … [Read more...]

Resurrecting Catholic Schools

In his unforgettable book Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture, Anthony Esolen, with his typical elegance of prose, articulates the dissipation of American culture along with a clarion call to rebuild it. At a key moment in his … [Read more...]

The Very Stones Would Cry Out

Architecture and Evangelization

In his 1998 work, Architecture in Communion, architect Steven Schloeder offers for consideration a twofold problem: first, the problem of how to design for contemporary, post-Vatican II liturgy, and second, what, if anything, should a … [Read more...]

Evangelizing Catechesis

As a member of the USCCB’s Committee of Evangelization and Catechesis, we have spent a great deal of time developing a new vision of what we call “Evangelizing Catechesis.” We have defined it as such: At the heart of the Church’s mission to … [Read more...]

Preaching the Heart of the Gospel

Although I grew up in a nominally Catholic home, neither of my parents was particularly religious. We attended Sunday Mass occasionally as a family, but as we got older the demands of family life, sports, and other obligations quickly began … [Read more...]

Stuck in Neutral: When Parish Evangelization (Still) Fails

It has been five years since the four-day United States Convocation of Catholic Leaders on Evangelization was held in Atlanta. It has been nine years since Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, was … [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...]

Pope Benedict XVI Has Found What He’s Been Looking For

In a relatively recent children’s animated movie sequel, “Sing 2” (yes, the sequel to Sing!), the producers succeeded in getting the famous lead singer “Bono” (from the band U2) to be the voice for the main hero of the movie. Bono is voice-o … [Read more...]

Before and After the First Papal Tweet

How Benedict XVI Promoted “Communio” in a World of Social Communications

Originally presented at a conference on “Catholicity as Gift and Task” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Communio, at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry (Rochester, NY) on October 2, 2022. The historic date was 12/12 … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – February 2023

The Church and the Age of Reformations (1350-1650): Martin Luther, the Renaissance, and the Council of Trent. Joseph T. and Barbara A. Stuart. Reviewed by Argene Águila Clasara. (skip to review) Forming Fathers: Seminary Wisdom for Every … [Read more...]