My mother died in July 2020. I was blessed to be home from my then-assignment in Rome for the event; as it happened, I was the only one there with her. In a manner that was like a reverse Pieta, she died in my arms, breathing her last … [Read more...]
The Benedictus: Hope for Priests
July 27, 2023 by Fr. Kenneth G. Davis, OFM Conv.
Introduction: Intimidating Indicators When asked to preach to priests, I recall the advice of a bishop: “Preach hope. The guys need to hear a hopeful message.” Presbyterates needing hope is a theme I’ve heard for many years, perhaps becau … [Read more...]
Pope Benedict XVI Has Found What He’s Been Looking For
January 27, 2023 by E. Tyler Graham
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...]
Keep Easter in Eastertide
April 28, 2022 by S. E. Greydanus
Happy Easter! Christ is risen, alleluia! Does this time still feel like Easter? Hopefully Sunday Mass, at least, still does. Yet outside of that weekly hour, how often do we remember what season we are in? Many Catholics have prepared … [Read more...]
The Difference Between Imperfect and Perfect Hope
Contrasting Aquinas and Luther
September 9, 2021 by Tyler Pellegrin
In this short essay, I ultimately seek to lay out a brief explanation of the mechanics of hope as a theological virtue, which must include its synergy with charity. First, I will emphasize that the Thomistic or Scholastic theology of hope … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – May 2021
May 20, 2021 by Book Reviews
Under Siege: No Finer Time to be a Faithful Catholic. By Austin Ruse. Reviewed by Matthew Kappadakunnel. (skip to review) Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation. By Gavin Ortlund. Reviewed by Fr. Stephen Rocker. (skip to r … [Read more...]
Hope: A Virtue for Our Time
Faith, hope, and charity are the three theological virtues — the three virtues that direct us immediately and rightly to God Himself.[1. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the theological virtues are called “Theological” for three reasons: God is … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – October 2020
October 1, 2020 by Book Reviews
Can Francis Change the Church? How American Catholics Are Responding to His Leadership. By Thomas P. Sweetser. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) Into His Likeness: Be Transformed as a Disciple of Christ. By … [Read more...]
Hope in the Darkness
August 28, 2020 by Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, OP
For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. . . . I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. – Psalm 71:5, 14 Many psychological and scientific studies will be published in the upcoming months r … [Read more...]
Super-essential Work amid COVID-19
April 4, 2020 by David Vincent Meconi
Has anyone else been a bit taken aback in realizing that you are not an “essential worker”? Of course, we Jesuits are supposed to pray for, and in fact are all in dire need of, humility. So perhaps this should be the Lenten lesson my bro … [Read more...]
Perserverance in the Face of Imperfect Ministers
September 30, 2019 by Richard P. Maggi, Esq.
Too frequently, practicing Catholics encounter family members and friends who are dismayed by the priestly and hierarchal abuse scandals. They have lost faith in the hierarchy and priests, not knowing whom they can trust. Consequently, they … [Read more...]
Our Lady of Good Help, the New Evangelization, and the Priest
June 30, 2019 by Fr. Frederick L. Miller, STD
Allow me to begin by making two confessions: I arrived at the Monastery of the Holy Name of Jesus in Denmark, Wisconsin, on Friday afternoon. I am an old friend of the nuns and try to visit them at least once a year. Two of the nuns, … [Read more...]
Why You Should Have Hope for the Future of the Church
June 18, 2019 by Michele Chronister
It’s officially the heart of ordination season, and our family is attending our usual round of ordination Masses. For the second year in a row, I am sewing a chasuble and stoles for some of my seminarian friends. If you have never sewn a … [Read more...]
Our Hope in Mary
Part II of a Marian Triptych
May 31, 2019 by Francis Etheredge
[1. This piece first appeared as part III of chapter nine of volume III of a trilogy called From Truth and truth: Volume III-Faith is Married Reason (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016), 57–66; the present version is, h … [Read more...]
The Noonday Devil
January 1, 2019 by Fr. William P. Clark, OMI
The ninety-first psalm speaks of “the scourge that wreaks havoc at high noon.” It also expresses confidence in God’s protection from that scourge, as well as other evils. Based on that psalm some spiritual writers speak of the “Noonday Devil … [Read more...]
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