Contemporary Concerns about Mercy The fact that the Jubilee Year of Mercy called for by Pope Francis in 2016–17 coincided with mass encounters of Middle Eastern refugees in Europe, challenging immigration policy disputes in the United S … [Read more...]
Prejudices Against Mercy: Is Mercy a Relaxation of Justice?
An Inquiry Guided by St. Thomas Aquinas
July 28, 2022 by Dr. Vincent DeMeo
The Holy Spirit and the Contemporary Reform of the Catholic Church
December 15, 2014 by Father Philip-Michael F. Tangorra, STL
Status Quaestionis Ecclesia semper reformanda est (The Church is always to be reformed). This phrase originated in the Nadere Reformatiae of the Dutch Reform during the 1600s, and first appeared in the 1674 work, Beschouwinge van Zion … [Read more...]
Private Revelation and the Revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
October 29, 2014 by Dr. William R. Luckey, PhD
The Nature of Private Revelation When thinking about the idea of private revelation, it occurs to one that there is, and has been, a lot of it going around for centuries; and the reason that it is so successful, both the true and the … [Read more...]
The Sacraments as True Causes of Grace: An Ecumenical Obstacle
September 25, 2014 by Dr. Joshua Madden
If the Church can be accused of anything at all, (it is that) she attributes too much power to God, for it is only she who proclaims to the world that God is so powerful that he takes up creation and uses it to bring about that which he … [Read more...]
The Role of the Church in the Journey of Salvation
August 25, 2014 by Br. Thomas More Garrett, OP
The Church, the living Body of Christ and sacrament of salvation, continues its pilgrimage to heaven by exercising Christ’s ministry in the world so as to bring humanity into greater conformity with Christ. The Vision of the Lord D … [Read more...]
Competing Theories of Christ’s Atonement: Penal Substitution, Economic Transaction, or Obediential Love?
July 26, 2014 by Book Reviews
The Passion is understood as an act of a personal God atoning for the personal offense of sin. The personalist understanding of the atonement is deeply linked to the framework of the relationship between Christ and the members of his … [Read more...]
Teaching the Faith: Contributions from Thomas Aquinas
July 11, 2014 by Br. Michael Weibley, OP
God's love, mediated through the articles of faith, is a communication of God's love speaking to us. Those who hear, and cling to the merciful speech of God, in faith, are the ones who attain this saving knowledge. "But when the Son of M … [Read more...]
Grace and Reason According to St. Paul and St. Thomas
February 5, 2014 by Dr. Eric M. Johnston, PhD
...the world we live in is overwhelmingly irrational. Our popular discourse doesn’t make any sense at all. As Catholics, we need to understand what our faith teaches about this irrationality. We need to look to Scripture and t … [Read more...]
The Priesthood as Consecration
November 11, 2013 by Fr. Joseph Scolaro
Looking at the priesthood in the modern world, particularly through the lens of consecration, requires an initial reexamination of terms. Through time and the development of thought, concepts such as "the sacred" and "consecration" can … [Read more...]
The Providence of God and the Cross of Christ
October 9, 2013 by Daniel M. Garland, Jr.
When one examines the mystery of divine providence, and its relation to the cross of Christ from the viewpoint of wisdom, which is knowledge of divine things, he sees God’s wonderful plan of redemption for his creatures. Crucifixion is t … [Read more...]
The Role of Doctrine in Inspiring Believers to Moral Greatness
July 23, 2013 by Fr. Daniel Richards
In order to demonstrate this essential coexistence of nature and grace in the life of the Church, and the life of the believer, it must be shown that doctrine is necessary for salvation, not superfluous, but essential to the Church’s m … [Read more...]
“Humanae Vitae” and Sacred Scripture: A Missed Opportunity
July 20, 2013 by Rev. Ray E. Atwood
While prophetic in many ways, the most controversial encyclical of the twentieth century might have been better received had a stronger biblical argument been made in its favor. This July 2013 we commemorate the 45th anniversary of Pope … [Read more...]
Glorious Wounds—Christ’s and Ours
April 9, 2013 by Fr. Andrew Hofer, OP
You could say that Christ’s glorious wounds are our wounds. He took our humanity to himself in the Incarnation ... Christ’s humanity is completely ours. Central to the mystery of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ’s suffering, death, an … [Read more...]
Merit Revisited
December 11, 2012 by Fr. Joseph R. Upton
One of the most significant themes is the doctrine of merit. This long-forgotten element of Catholic teaching has made a remarkably ostensible reappearance in the new translation. It seems that the implementation of the new translation … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Prayer of Christ as Manifest in the Prayers of the Mass
November 15, 2012 by Dawn Eden
The Angelic Doctor’s overarching concern in treating of Christ’s prayer is to show that Jesus’ primary purpose in praying was to draw us to imitate him. St. Thomas Aquinas begins his exposition on prayer in the Summa theologiae by expla … [Read more...]
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