When those who believe in the Christian view of the world—or any view that involves the survival of the soul—use “departed” and “passed away,” we are using literal language. Death is the end of this bodily life, but it is not the end of our human being. November is traditionally a month for remembrance of [...]
I am glad that the saints continue to be an inspiration to writers and filmmakers. We shouldn’t resent them trying to make great art with these holy lives. But as one sometimes “had to be there” to get the point of certain stories, it would seem that for some fictional depictions to succeed, you really [...]
True saints never put their faith in the surety of other saints in an ultimate sense. They put it in the Lord Jesus himself. And that is an infallible truth that is truly ecumenical. One of the big worries of liberal and progressive Catholic theologians during the thirty-five years of the terms of office of [...]
Jesus is the only final safety we have in the world. We need to convey that truth. But we also need to convey that what He asks of those who want this safety is something that is simultaneously absolutely dangerous to us here and now, in all senses of the word. A friendly acquaintance on [...]
Sister Claire’s meditations, chock full of great quotations from great thinkers and pray-ers of the past, as well as liturgical prayers and hymns, combined with her well-organized set of passages taken from the whole of the Bible, make this thin volume extremely useful not only for private study but for preparation for teaching and preaching [...]
If we want to win souls for Christ, we must touch their imaginations. Christopher Dawson’s idea of teaching Christian culture was certainly consistent with that idea of facts, events, history, and description. The adventure, the romance, and the beauty of the story of the Body of Christ after Pentecost shows the splendor of the truth [...]
Far from the common good requiring persons to enter into the kind of voluntary slavery talked about by Rousseau, it requires a recognition of certain rights and the making possible of a number of freedoms, most important of which is the right of conscience. True religious liberty is one of the main conditions for the [...]
I like the idea of celebrating “homo faber”—man the maker or worker. Work is something that is part of our dignity, a triumph of the human spirit. The celebration of work is something desperately needed in our culture today. “Why are we celebrating Labor Day? You don’t belong to a labor union,” one of my [...]
Even in the midst of circumstances we consider less than ideal—a degraded and hostile culture, broken families—the Spirit of the Lord works so that we are not alone. He raises up children of the Father who want to be conformed to the Son in their own lives and to witness to the truth. They are [...]
Father Thomas Shelley's avuncular presence, his inquiring mind, and his priestly solicitude for me and for so many around me was a potent witness of the goodness of old Catholic New York. Though he always wore clerical clothing in professional situations, there was never anything “clerical” about him, if understood as a sense of superiority [...]
My mother's life was too short. She loved Jesus and wanted to be like Him in every way. She understood the power that is inherent in holiness, even in weakness. And, ordinary woman that she was, she took part in that power. She spent time every day in the Scriptures because she believed that Jesus [...]
Caryll Houselander's novel "The Dry Wood" succeeds in depicting holiness as a real possibility for flesh-and-blood people and divine love as binding them together without taking away individuality, free will, or all problems. It is ancient in its understanding of the mystical body of Christ, modern in its techniques, and eternal in its evocation of [...]
It is the best of times and the worst of times for the pro-life movement. Though the historic Dobbs decision was a great legal victory, the cause for life continues. And it continues in both states that have severely limited abortion and those that have made it a kind of untouchable secular sacrament. The Supreme [...]
While much of Catholic education has withered for lack of connection to its roots and the water of Christian faith, the Adeodatus Foundation is preparing to nourish many gardens in the desert. Those who want to be part of this movement of renewal might consider a trip to Pasadena later this month. Much of American [...]