And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) Since her beginning, the Catholic Church has been an incarnational institution, a B … [Read more...]
A God with Skin
Recapturing the Incarnational Nature of the Sacraments
January 1, 2019 by Mark C. McCann
The Gift and Rights of Being Conceived, Part 2
September 2, 2018 by Francis Etheredge
Even if, as we have seen in Part I of this essay, there are unresolved questions concerning the definition of the moment of conception, an irreversible moment involving the action of God, each one of us is nevertheless evidence of an actual … [Read more...]
Our Lord and His Love
July 31, 2018 by Audrey Yu
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16) In this world where almost everything is relative, we can know at least one absolute truth: Every human being alive in this world wants and needs to be … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
March 30, 2018 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: A fine layman friend of mine was attending a class at a Catholic college taught by a priest who was insisting that Christ’s acquired knowledge was defective, citing Mk 2:26, when Our Lord cited that David ate the loaves of o … [Read more...]
Reclaiming the Truth that God Is Spirit
January 23, 2018 by Chad Engelland, Ph.D.
The scorn with which the new atheists heap on religion is understandable when one looks into their understanding of theology. The religion they reject is the religion of kindergarteners. There exists a Santa Claus that delivers presents at … [Read more...]
The True Christmas Exchange
Christ’s Striving to Take Flesh Anew
December 30, 2017 by David Vincent Meconi
Christmas did not happen only in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. The coming of Christ is not simply an historical event recorded deep in our human history. If it were, you and I would be historians but not Christians. The days of preparation … [Read more...]
Receiving the Gift
A Way of Life Open to Reality
December 30, 2017 by Thomas Gourlay
(This essay was previously presented at the National Billings Ovulation Method Teachers' Weekend.)[1. Presented at the National Billings Ovulation Method Teachers' Weekend. Perth, Western Australia. May 6, 2017.] If the Christmas Season … [Read more...]
Life with God
November 21, 2016 by Fr. John Navone, SJ
God cannot exist in any place or at any time, though God is present to anything in any place, and the proposition that God exists will be true at any time that it is uttered or conceived. Thus eternity, which properly belongs to God alone, … [Read more...]
Worth a Thousand Words: Iconography as Language
June 13, 2016 by Nicholas Senz
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” as the saying goes. This common phrase hints at something deeper: the profound ability of images to communicate ideas. This should not surprise us. Words are signs, pointing to something beside … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
November 16, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Could Jesus perform miracles of his own accord? Did he not empty himself and rely on the Father as we do by faith? We are to have faith to move mountains. What better way to make the point than Jesus praying in thanksgiving before … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
October 26, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: A local priest has, on more than one occasion, preached that Jesus “became a human being.” Is that the same thing as he “became man?” Are the two terms interchangeable? Answer: This question takes up the famous issue of what the … [Read more...]
Why God Becomes Human
December 15, 2014 by David Vincent Meconi
The Advent and Christmas seasons are upon us. Like the reality itself, we Christians have to look more deeply to see the mystery beneath the glitter and the commotion. God has now descended into his creation to take up his rightful place as … [Read more...]
The Nativity of Christ
Its Historic Reality
December 15, 2014 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
In those days, Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole world. This first took place when Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Everyone went to register, each to his own town. And so Joseph went from his own town of … [Read more...]
Scriptural Iconography Communicating Our Vision of God
October 29, 2014 by Fr. John Navone, SJ
Literature, whether in the form of narratives, plays, autobiographies, biographies, or histories, is a question-raising work of art for the inquisitive mind seeking understanding. As such, it presents what scholastic philosophy called “the s … [Read more...]
True, Virginal Wife of Joseph
October 29, 2014 by Jonathan Fleischmann
Recently, a holy, married couple made the following claim regarding the central place of sexual intercourse in sacramental marriage, expressed as a personal insight, gained over the course of more than 50 years of sacramental … [Read more...]
Recent Comments