Christ Is the Fulfillment of the Law

The Holy Law Is Not an End in Itself

The core teaching in Pope Francis’s homily on October 13th is summarized in the following conclusion: Do I believe in Jesus Christ, in Jesus, in what he did: He died, rose again, and the story ended there. Do I think that the journey c … [Read more...]

True, Virginal Wife of Joseph

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...]

The Eucharist: From Corinth to Liege

Many converts to the Catholic faith are surprised by the lack of devotion to the Eucharist evident among those attending Mass—their poor unconvincing responses to the liturgy, their matter of fact attitude at Holy Communion. As one such c … [Read more...]

Cardinal Walter Kasper on “Artificial” Birth Control

I grant that there are some today who erroneously refer to unnatural forms of birth control as “artificial contraception,” but no one today is arguing that the evil of marital contraception is its use of an artifact.  In the online edit … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Can you explain what the general rights and duties are of the state in regard to the family? What does the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) mean by their term “Creative Fidelity”? Question: Can you explain what the gen … [Read more...]

“Go and Call Your Husband”: What Enables a Marriage to Endure?

The unity of will between a husband and wife that God establishes is realized also through a life that is fully shared. A marriage is contracted as a result of the consent of the spouses, and this consent needs to be renewed each … [Read more...]

Sacred Tradition: The Forgotten Doctrine?

The miracle and mystery of divine guidance has been the primary constituent element of Church teaching over the centuries, and this guidance is what makes Tradition “sacred,” but rarely is it linked with the teaching of any other doc … [Read more...]

The Holy Family, Celibacy, and Marriage: A Reflection on the “Passage” from the Jewish Rite of Marriage to the Sacrament of Marriage

If the sacrament of marriage came to be specified at a particular moment, then as the renewal of marriage was itself an indication of a new beginning ... it makes sense that the marriage of Mary and Joseph was precisely the implicitly … [Read more...]

The Problem with “Not” Having a Personal Relationship with Jesus

Christian believers know the God who created the Universe ... as a person who reveals himself as Love and Gift, and Personal in his nature. Jesus revealed that the One True God also has an inner life that is not only personal, but … [Read more...]

“Ressourcement,” “Aggiornamento,” and Vatican II in Ecumenical Perspective

(S)ome interpreters of Vatican II took renewal to be merely a matter of the Church’s adaptation or accommodation to the standards of the modern world ... they took aggiornamento as an “isolated motive for renewal” ... simply adapting to the … [Read more...]

Catholic Ecumenism: Towards an Integration of Faith, Hope, and Charity

The purpose of this one Church is to bring about the supernatural communion of all humanity together in the Spirit, under Christ as head, giving praise to the Father.  Popes Pius XI, Pius XII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope F … [Read more...]

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help for Priests

The message the Queen of Heaven gave to Adele Brise in 1859 was mission-oriented and provides a focus to the Church’s efforts of evangelization. The conversation between Adele and Our Lady is quite telling, emphasizing a two-fold dimension: … [Read more...]

Giving Our Grief over to the “Man Acquainted with Grief”

With the coming of Christ into the depths of all things human, we now know that even our grief can be given over to the good God ... All losses can become places of life, places of intimacy with Christ, if we show him these wounds caused by … [Read more...]

Believing in the Justice of the Cross: Jesus Christ as the Alpha and Omega of Faith

Adhering with love to the Lord, Victim and Priest, Obedient and Merciful, we embrace him in the real and veiled presence of the broken Bread, and we celebrate the victory against evil, sin, and death.   This essay focuses on the … [Read more...]

“Nuclear fission in the…heart of being”: The Eucharist as the Sacrament of Transformations in the Teaching of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s use of the image of nuclear fission—...in a positive sense, in order to explain the Eucharistic mystery—is contemporary and striking, and apt to convey the quiet, but immense, power of the Mass. The Sacra … [Read more...]