Go to Part I As the Church was the sign and sacrament to the world, there was a direct link between the reputation of the Church’s ministers and the mission of the Church itself.[1. Liguori cites the “rigorous discipline” of the early Chu … [Read more...]
St. John Vianney and the Meaning of the Priesthood
July 28, 2022 by Fr. Peter Stravinskas
Homily preached by the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D., at Holy Innocents Church in New York City for the memorial of St. John Vianney (4/8 August 202/OF & EF calendars). In this month of August, we celebrate the … [Read more...]
Prayer As Bedrock for Service
June 13, 2015 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
Although prayer and service have many splendors within Christianity, one cannot exist without the other. Prayer is spiritual respiration to the soul, which oxygenates Christian service. Pope John XXIII said, “Perfume all your actions with t … [Read more...]
St. Joseph: His Increasing Importance in Our Times
March 11, 2015 by Fr. Stanley Smolenski, SPMA
In his Apostolic Letter Le Voci of March 19, 1961, the “Pope of St. Joseph,” St. John XXIII, invoked that saint as the Patron of the Second Vatican Council. Shortly after the beginning of that Council, he inserted the name of St. Joseph int … [Read more...]
An Advent Reflection: Redemptor Hominis, Redeemer of Man
December 2, 2014 by Austin P. Kirwan
Introduction The encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, has a specific place in the ministry of Pope St. John Paul II. It was proclaimed the first Sunday of Lent, 1979, the first encyclical of the new pontificate, hence the link to Advent—it m … [Read more...]
The Problem with “Not” Having a Personal Relationship with Jesus
August 11, 2014 by Dr. Carole Brown
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
July 26, 2014 by Eduardo Echeverria
(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...]
Pope John XXIII, 1958-1963: A Brief Biography
April 23, 2014 by David Vincent Meconi
"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do." - … [Read more...]
The Papacy: The Person Versus The Office
February 3, 2014 by David Vincent Meconi
What draws the secular media to the Vatican ... (for now) is the man who is able to translate these truths into action, and to proclaim our doctrine with personal conviction. It is one of those few moments forever emblazoned on my mind … [Read more...]
The Social Teaching of John Paul II
January 15, 2014 by Dr. John C. Caiazza, PhD
John Paul wanted to move forward the Council’s openness and announcement of Christian hope to the postmodern world, but ... he saw that the excesses brought about by the Council were having destructive effects and acted to preserve the C … [Read more...]
St. Joseph, “blessed spouse of Mary”
August 2013 Editorial
August 5, 2013 by David Vincent Meconi
Scripture and sacred tradition do not tell us too much about Joseph. Yet, all we need to know is that the heart of his life beats between Mary and Jesus, how he found his truest self between our Lady and her God. St. Joseph and the Baby … [Read more...]
The New Evangelization: The Holiness of the Church
April 22, 2013 by Michael Hull
The New Evangelization is our cooperation with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the 21st century ... an evangelization foreshadowed by Vatican II, according to Popes John XXIII and Paul VI ... an evangelization whose importance became m … [Read more...]
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