Introduction Consider how central the Trinity is to our faith. We invoke the Trinity at the start and end of every Mass when we make the Sign of the Cross; those of us who pray the Rosary or the Divine Office will invoke the Trinity … [Read more...]
Is the Trinity a Mysterious Contradiction or a Rational Mystery?
June 18, 2019 by Reginald Mary Chua, OP
Book Reviews – June 2019
June 18, 2019 by Book Reviews
The Catholic Writer Today and Other Essays By Dana Gioia. Reviewed by Ken Colombini. (skip to review) Raymond E. Brown and the Catholic Biblical Renewal By Fr. Donald E. Senior. Reviewed by Rev. John P. Cush, STD. (skip to … [Read more...]
Catechesi Tradendae’s Fortieth Anniversary
The Usefulness of Metaphysics and Epistemology in Catechesis
May 19, 2019 by Fr. Robert M. Garrity, JCL, SThD
The year 2019 marks the fortieth anniversary of a classic papal document on catechesis and evangelization in the contemporary Church and world, namely, Pope St. John Paul II’s 1979 apostolic exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, “On Catechesis in … [Read more...]
Is It Virtuous to Criticize the Pope?
April 20, 2019 by Joanne M.M. Baker
Lately there has been much public criticism of our Holy Father the Pope even amongst faithful Catholics. Some have been dismayed by this criticism, considering it irreverent and judgmental. Yet others justify criticism of the Pope, saying … [Read more...]
Aquinas as Biblical Exegete
His Interpretation of Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”
January 28, 2019 by Lawrence B. Porter, STL, PhD
No doubt Thomas Aquinas is most famous as a systematic theologian who made great use of philosophical sources such as Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Nevertheless, when Aquinas first taught at the University of Paris, he held the title of Magister … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – February 2019
January 28, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Why Do We Need Grace? Question: St. Thomas believed that man has an inborn understanding and disposition toward doing the good. What, then, is the purpose of the infusion of grace? Answer: I really do not know where you get the idea … [Read more...]
The Enriching Complementarity of Faith and Science
January 1, 2019 by Fr. Raphael Christianson, OP
“By faith alone do we hold, and by no demonstration can it be proved, that the world did not always exist,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, implicitly making a claim about the proper relationship between faith and science.[1. Thomas Aquinas, Sum … [Read more...]
Happiness — A Thomistic Consideration (Part II)
Continued Reflections on Summa Theologiae I-II, Q 1–5
January 1, 2019 by Deacon Peter Trahan, MATh
Introduction to Part II The three pillars of Catholic social teaching, which springs from natural law and human nature, are human dignity, common good, and subsidiarity. Within societal structures with hierarchical poleis (e.g., federal, … [Read more...]
Happiness — A Thomistic Consideration (Part I)
A Reflection on Summa Theologiae I-II, Q 1–5
December 20, 2018 by Deacon Peter Trahan, MATh
Introduction At some point in the life of every human person the great questions arise in their ponderings: “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?” These questions encompass the ultimate question of our own mortality: … [Read more...]
Christ, Melchizedek, and the Eucharistic Sacrifice
September 2, 2018 by Marcus Benedict Peter
“…when [Christ] instituted the Eucharist. That fulfilled Jeremiah 31. That's when he offered what appeared to be bread and wine. That's when he became a new Melchizedek, feeding the new children of Abraham so that through Abraham's seed, Jes … [Read more...]
On the Relationship Between Merit and Grace
A Thomistic Understanding of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
March 15, 2018 by Paul Chutikorn
There is often much confusion between the relationship of merit and grace and how it plays a part in our lives from a soteriological perspective. This confusion, from both non-Catholics and on behalf of some Catholics themselves, has led to … [Read more...]
Early Fall Reading
September 8, 2017 by Book Reviews
The Concept of Woman: Volume III: The Search for Communion of Persons, 1500-2015. By Sister Prudence Allen, R.S.M., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016. 546 pages. Reviewed by Joshua M. Evans, Ph.D. Revelation. Catholic Commentary on Sacred … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
July 21, 2017 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Does a homily mean something other than a sermon? Online dictionaries seem to show them to be interchangeable. I have for years now believed homilies to be based on Scripture, and sermons might cover a range of topics, not … [Read more...]
What Lessons Do Thomas Aquinas’s Sermons Hold For Modern Preachers?
June 12, 2017 by Dr. Randall B. Smith, Ph.D.
Son: “All the men who were ordained with me seemed to think that the faculty of preaching will come to them as a matter of course.” Father: “Then I pity their congregations.” —Canon Twells, Colloquies on Preaching It is strange to th … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
April 8, 2017 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Why was baptism by John so crucial for Jesus, but not for Jesus’ followers? Answer: The baptism by John is the last in a number of rituals established by God as a part of the progressive preparation of the human race for the co … [Read more...]
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