No matter how corrupt and bleak and depressing the world may appear, we can always turn to the many Cecilias of the world and see the goodness that is possible through grace and love. Properly remembered, these true symbols and true myths can re-orient our souls, our cultures, and perhaps even the world itself toward [...]
Why should an adult take time out of his busy schedule to learn classical languages? Latin and ancient Greek unlock the cultural heritage of the West. When it comes to ancient languages, many people seem to believe that there is an incredibly small window of opportunity for learning. I encounter this belief frequently, since I [...]
We cannot give our souls, or the souls of our neighbors, to the pagan Caesar. But the modern Christian can obey a tyrant, insofar as he is just. In fact, this is difference that Christianity brings to politics. Every particular decree of our leaders can be judged as either usurping God’s authority or rightfully, humbly [...]
For many of us, Saint John Henry Newman, his teachings, and his example constitute our North Star. For many years he has been our doctor. And now he becomes the doctor of us all. Introduction: Newman as Our North Star On July 31, Pope Leo XIV announced that Cardinal Newman would formally be declared a [...]
We need to return to first principles and to the most important questions one could ever ask: What is man? What is God? And, what is man’s relationship to God and to one another? The Christian Humanist does not pretend to know the answer to each of these questions, but he knows the questions must [...]
The conventional narrative of “The Schism of 1054” may attract us by its simplicity and apparent explanatory power. But besides serving as a dubious justification for an ongoing situation, this narrative fails to capture the variety, obscurity, and complexity of human nature inspired by religious conviction that comes into view through the study of history [...]
It is above all Saint Bernard, particularly through his innovative mystical theology, who shaped the theology of the later Middle Ages and also of modern times. The history of Christian spirituality is rather like a roller coaster with continual ups and downs, as renewal is followed by decline as the human spirit inevitably falters and [...]
Five-hundred years on from the Protestant revolution and Christendom is not just dismantled, but in full apostasy. Can it be revived, and if so, how? St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), who was the greatest Christian philosopher of antiquity and certainly the one who exerted the deepest and most lasting influence, maintained that a Christian state is the only [...]
The idea of kingship, which the ancient cultures understood, is necessary for us to own as well. It is a necessary part of the Christian imagination, not to be cast aside simply because literal kings form little or no part of our experience. Eschatological questions have been on my mind lately, as it seems to [...]
Though eventually martyred for his selfless and Grace-filled efforts, St. Boniface succeeded in creating what we would now recognize as the beginnings of Europe: a synthesis of the classical, Christian, and Germanic. So, please, raise a glass to St. Boniface on his feast day, and to the many monks of history who helped build Western [...]
The Church has disavowed her ancient usurpations of the political. It remains for the Catholic to stop imposing these duties on her. Who is to say, once she has been thus unencumbered by the vain expectations of her own children for the war-leadership she should not provide, that she will not once more glow with [...]
How Will We Save Western Civilization? This was the urgent question and theme for a gathering of international leaders in London in late February, where I had the honor of representing Christendom College. Many among the leaders were Catholic and we found ourselves naturally reframing the conference’s question within the context of our faith and [...]
The Ancient Serpent had oft-times crawled into the sacred precincts of Holy Church since his first entry. However, this time his havoc would strike a thousand blows to the Mystical Body of Christ. St. Pope Pius X named the serpent: Modernism. At the beginning of time a snake slithered into a Garden called Eden. He entered [...]
Did Archbishop Fulton Sheen prophesy about these times? In a talk 76 years ago, Bishop Fulton Sheen appeared as visionary as prophets of old. “We are at the end of Christendom.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen said during a talk in 1947. Making clear he didn’t mean Christianity or the Church, he said, “Christendom is economic, political, [...]