In an article written in 1953, the German philosopher Josef Pieper raises an alarm about the TV-transmission of the Mass that, at first, sounds hyperbolic and out of date. He seems horrified at what, for us, has become the norm. He argues … [Read more...]
On the World’s Most Beautiful Sermon
May 18, 2018 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
I. A sermon is an essay or a treatise that is spoken. Classical sermons of Newman, or some of the great French preachers, could last for hours. Great Protestant divines were known for long and powerfully delivered sermons. We live in a … [Read more...]
A German Philosopher Sees the World
A Review Essay of Josef Pieper’s Not Yet the Twilight: An Autobiography
July 21, 2017 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
“The almost lethal crisis of American Catholicism after the second Vatican Council, I was convinced, consisted mainly in the absence of a living theology in the universities. Again and again, the guest (i.e., Pieper) from Europe, the old c … [Read more...]
Liturgy as an Act of Leisure
Perspectives from Guardini, Pieper, and Ratzinger
May 1, 2017 by Veronica A. Arntz
We frequently hear that the liturgy is the “source and summit” of the Christian life, a quote from the Vatican II document, Lumen gentium. We often do not get the whole context for this small part of the quote. In a slightly different tran … [Read more...]
Leisure: The Basis of Everything?
January 20, 2017 by Matthew Minerd, Ph.D.
At the start of every semester, I know that I will need to undertake a kind of philosophical apologetics. I need to make my students see that philosophy is important. Indeed, it is really a matter of making them see that it actually exists, … [Read more...]
The Metaphysics of Christian Love
June 13, 2016 by Nathan Arends
Introduction This essay will largely confine itself to the thought of two Christian writers on the nature of love: Josef Pieper and Josef Ratzinger. The latter, being the younger of the two, is immensely indebted to the ideas of the … [Read more...]
A Pastoral Society
The Renewal of Catholic Culture and the Flourishing of Human Society
December 2, 2014 by Deacon Peter Trahan, MATh
Introduction In the Catholic intellectual community, there is a growing call for the renewal of Christian culture as a solution to the impoverishment of 21st century society. This intellectual movement has two momentums: on the one hand, … [Read more...]
Checking the Calendar
January 11, 2014 by David Vincent Meconi
(The Ephiphany) celebrates the end of man’s being held captive by the natural elements. We are not fated but free. None of us is pre-determined, but now made children of God by the humanity of his only divine Son. God the Father (righ … [Read more...]
On “Whose God Is God?”
December 12, 2013 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
The problem is not with God. The problem is already located in the classical Garden in Genesis, the question of man preferring his own world to that more noble world that God has destined him for, and in which, being the kind of being he … [Read more...]
The Priesthood as Consecration
November 11, 2013 by Fr. Joseph Scolaro
Looking at the priesthood in the modern world, particularly through the lens of consecration, requires an initial reexamination of terms. Through time and the development of thought, concepts such as "the sacred" and "consecration" can … [Read more...]
The Dumb Ox on Evolution
November 11, 2013 by Rob Agnelli
Thomism offers a valuable service to mankind by guiding the scientific discussions only in the direction of those theories that have a solid metaphysical foundation. In a 1996 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John … [Read more...]
Thinking as a Christian with Josef Pieper
May 20, 2013 by Matthew Anger
In an age when society is again becoming highly polarized, it is important to remember that the lack of real communication causes a breakdown in civility, and an increase in ignorance. During his long lifetime, Josef Pieper (1904-1997) … [Read more...]
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