The Instrumentum Laboris (IL), or working document, of the recently concluded synod on youth states quite starkly that “personal experiences cannot be placed in question” (IL 55).[1. Instrumentum laboris, XV Ordinary General Assembly of Syn … [Read more...]
Exploring Harmful Anger in and at Marriage and the Priesthood
November 30, 2018 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
The protection of one’s marriage and children from the harm caused by excessive anger is an important responsibility for parents in their vocation. Particularly challenging is the uncovering and addressing of anger expressed in a covert, m … [Read more...]
The Inseparable Unitive and Procreative Purposes of Marriage — and Appropriate NFP Use
October 29, 2018 by Anne Cherney
In 1946, theologian Fr. Mathias Scheeben’s The Mysteries of Christianity appeared and therein he wrote of married couples, “They can rightfully unite with each other in matrimony only for the end which Christ pursues in His union with the Ch … [Read more...]
A Case for the Sacrament of Marriage
September 18, 2018 by Rev. Kenneth M. Dos Santos, MIC
Did God intend marriage to be a union between one man and one woman, a union that is both permanent and indissoluble? Is marriage at its very essence meant to be a covenantal bond between a man and a woman, or is it just as easily entered … [Read more...]
A Reflection on Humanae Vitae
July 12, 2018 by John F. Kippley
Recently I watched a television interview with an eloquent defender of Humanae Vitae, but at its conclusion I was disappointed. To be sure, the speaker made a brilliant consequentialist defense of the encyclical, but this time the emphasis … [Read more...]
Renewing or Imperiling our Understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage?
June 1, 2018 by Lawrence J. Welch, Ph.D.
In a recent essay, the canonist Fr. John Alesandro makes the bold claim that for hundreds of years “the Catholic church has simplistically “canonized” marriage, stripping down its sacred character as a covenant and likening it to a secular c … [Read more...]
On Coming to the Sacrament of Marriage
A Personal Pilgrimage
June 1, 2018 by Francis Etheredge
Part I of II: On Christ’s Love of the Sinner[1. This is now a part of the book, The Family on Pilgrimage: God Leads Through Dead Ends, (Chapter 4: Part I: enroutebooksandmedia.com/familyonpilgrimage/).] In the context of the widespread d … [Read more...]
Briefly Revisiting Pre-1983 Canonical Practice for a Better Response to Marriage Issues
March 15, 2018 by Catherine Godfrey Howell, JCD
The juridical significance of mental illness and psychic anomalies in marriage has shifted over centuries from a description of an illicit act to one of invalid consent. Early pronouncements on insane individuals who contracted marriage … [Read more...]
Understanding Anger in Those We Care For
February 24, 2018 by Dr. John Buri
A friend of mine conducted an informal survey of priests in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul to find out which sins were heard most often in the sacrament of reconciliation. No surprise that #1 transgression for men involved … [Read more...]
Late Winter Book Reviews
February 24, 2018 by Book Reviews
The Cardinal Müller Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church. By Gerhard Ludwig Müller with Carlos Granados. Translated by Richard Goodyear. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017. pp. 221+xi. $17.95 pb. ISBN 9 … [Read more...]
Being Open to Life—Abstract Norm, or Embodied Word?
January 23, 2018 by Francis Etheredge
Preamble We have a temptation to separate a moral norm from its existential reality and, in so doing, to imagine that we have “an abstract norm”[1. Although the expression, ‘abstract norm’ (ncregi … [Read more...]
Our Current Youth Culture and its Upcoming Impact on Successful Marriages
November 27, 2017 by Randall Woodard
There is no doubt that readers of Homiletic and Pastoral Review will believe strongly in the sanctity of marriage and a have profound respect for the importance of the family in our contemporary world. Those familiar with the work of John … [Read more...]
What is Authentic Intimacy?
November 6, 2017 by Kenton Biffert
This article is a response to a Protestant couple that disagreed with the Church’s teaching on the dignity of the marriage act. It was a pleasant evening and we were discussing some of the books I was reading. The topic of contraception … [Read more...]
On the Lowly, Yet Vital, Importance of Chastity
A Response to His Excellency, Bishop Robert McElroy
October 19, 2017 by Matthew Minerd, Ph.D.
The reader likely needs no introduction to the recent uproar in Catholic media regarding the rescinding of various speaking engagements previously granted to Fr. James Martin, SJ. Those particular waters are so contentious that I think … [Read more...]
Further Dubia for the Confused
September 27, 2017 by Rev. Basil Cole, OP
The Holy Father is given very special graces to guide the Catholic Church, being the successor of Peter. He is the vicar of Christ to which I adhere. Yet, when reading his latest exhortation, Amoris laetitia, I feel confused. In 1998, … [Read more...]
Recent Comments