This sex abuse scandal is, perhaps, the first time our listeners in the pews truly understand the pervasiveness of sin. ... The preacher speaks of its toll on our hearts, while ...reminding us that grace is more … [Read more...]
Helping to Heal the Pain in the Pew: The Preachers Role
March 26, 2013 by Rev. Richard R. DeLillio, OSFS
The Widow’s Mite
December 24, 2012 by Dr. Alfred Hanley
... {I propose here} to move ... to the freedom of giving as an inevitable expression of our spirits in Christ and as a necessary means of our own sanctification. We Catholics in the United States traditionally give more from an … [Read more...]
What does it mean to be “pastoral”?
November 26, 2012 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
The term “pastoral” comes from the Latin, pastor, meaning “shepherd,” and thus refers to the work and concern of the shepherd for his sheep. In the current ecclesiastical jargon, what is the meaning of the word “pastoral”? The term wa … [Read more...]
The Homosexually Oriented Person and the Church
November 3, 2012 by Steven Schultz
Holding that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God, the Church most certainly does not condemn homosexual persons ... (but) condemns using human sexuality for purposes contrary to that for which it is divinely intended … [Read more...]
“You Can Always Give Them Kindness”
My Favorite Priest
September 29, 2012 by Loretta Matulich
Fr. Robert C. Cieslinski was a priest in the mold of St. John Vianney ... He was self-effacing and humble, but realistic. “It is unusual to see so many people at the funeral Mass of a diocesan priest, especially one of his age.” So r … [Read more...]
Shepherding the Irascible Sheep: Anger, Fear, and Fortitude
August 29, 2012 by Fr. James Dominic Rooney, OP
By dealing with our anger and fear in a healthy way, we develop the virtue of fortitude (a key component of patience). Focusing on the character of fortitude provides guidelines to dealing with clients that encourages proper use of fear and … [Read more...]
Positive Psychology and Pastoral Practice
April 29, 2012 by Dr. Christopher Kaczor, Ph.D.
The interventions advocated in positive psychology show, not just a surprising overlap with pastoral theology, but can also be used to deepen and aid Christian practice. Are psychology and religion fundamentally incompatible? … [Read more...]
Razing the bastions, yet again
Be confident, bold and loving, for Christ has won!
June 1, 2011 by David Vincent Meconi
In his 1952 Razing the Bastions (Schleifung der Bastionen) Hans Urs von Balthasar challenged the Church to replace any posturing of fear with a more world-friendly embrace.[1. Han Urs von Balthasar, Razing the Bastions, trans., Brian McNeil … [Read more...]
The will of God
Editorial, May 2011
May 1, 2011 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
Over the years, in reading the lives of the saints, I have noted that they have tried to find God’s will in their lives. When they found it, they did all they could to follow it. There are many different paths to holiness—to which we are all … [Read more...]
“And unto dust you shall return”
Ash Wednesday is more than an empty ritual—it is a reminder of our mortality and frailty.
February 1, 2011 by Dr. John-Mark L. Miravalle
Rosary beads, holy water, incense, ashes, et cetera—the “sacramentals” used in prayer and liturgy give Catholicism much of its distinctive flavor. As we are physical creatures in love with a God-made-flesh, the Church encourages the use of m … [Read more...]
From conservation to consecration: Towards a Green Thomism
The Catholic tradition has much to contribute to an authentic environmentalism.
November 1, 2010 by Dr. Christopher J. Thompson
The Lord fills the earth with goodness. (Ps 33:5) Introduction “Ah! If we could and would only listen to the lesson of the bees…how much better the world would be! Working like bees with order and peace we would learn to enjoy and have o … [Read more...]
The Catholic Holocaust of Nagasaki—“Why, Lord?”
The witness of the Catholics of Nagasaki shows God’s providence in the darkest of times.
August 1, 2010 by Br. Anthony Josemaria
On August 9, 1945, God’s inscrutable providence allowed an atomic bomb named “Fat Man” to be dropped from a B-29 into the heavily populated city of Nagasaki. The epicenter of the blast was the Urakami district, the heart and soul of Catho … [Read more...]
The St. Noël Chabanel Responsorial Psalm Project
The St. Noël Chabanel Responsorial Psalm Project exists as a remedy for the problematic musical settings that often destroy a prayerful mood at Mass.
January 1, 2010 by Jeff Ostrowski
“The Chabanel Psalms are not only great music; they use a revolutionary form of distribution, both in terms of zero price and universal availability. In fact, the day the site went live, I knew I was looking at the future of sacred m … [Read more...]
The paradox of Christian freedom
Editorial, October 2009
October 1, 2009 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
“For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1). St. Paul tells us that faith in Christ makes us free. In the contemporary world there is a universal demand for more freedom—personal, political and economic. Freedom, however, is a slogan wor … [Read more...]
Pope John Paul II on conscience
Conscience itself does not create norms but discovers them in the objective order of morality.
August 1, 2009 by Dr. Richard A. Spinello
When Cardinal Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II in 1978, he was well prepared to teach the Catholic faithful about ethics. As a young man Karol Wojtyla thought about a career in acting, but he felt a call to the priesthood and soon found … [Read more...]
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