We are never without the help of God’s grace. Even in our world of trial and darkness, we can always choose the light. And we know that we have this freedom precisely because God is always with us in our decisions. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (1280 pages, Tor Publishing, 2011) At first [...]
In the mystery of his love, God has deigned to set aside certain men—whose human nature is decidedly and often evidently imperfect—and to make them mediators of his “sheer goodness.” And so these men feed and forgive, baptize and anoint in his holy name. What is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal [...]
In this month of May—as the days slowly grow warmer and leaves steadily fill the trees—take some advice from the plants. Root your moral life in the firm soil of steady habits—morning prayers, healthy eating, evening reading—and let them do their thing. Trust me, you’ll see a difference. Just don’t expect it tomorrow. I planted [...]
For Karl Marx, man is by nature productive, his value is in economic output. Any theory that reduces a person’s value to a producer or a consumer, misses the mark. In contrast, the Church begins with man’s inherent human dignity. It is not work that makes man valuable, instead “the primordial value of labor stems [...]
We see the mystery of our salvation worked out in the hands of Christ the Carpenter. We see in his craft the pattern of what it means to follow Christ. Our chapel has become a workshop. The scaffolds and smells of restoration work fill the nave and sanctuary. The high altar, veiled beneath a plastic [...]
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed; let us rejoice and be glad. But let us not suppose that our Passover, the sacrifice of our lives in union with his, is complete. In April of 2022, a few months before taking the Dominican habit, I walked around the Notre Dame campus with a Dominican friar. A [...]
We have no way of knowing whether the twenty-first-century collapse is yet another momentary stumble or finally the Dark Age. Like good Carolingians, however, we keep looking backwards for our recovery, trying to rebuild what we once had. Christopher Dawson’s prophetic The Making of Europe (1932) ends where the Gentle Reader might expect such a book to [...]
Blinding light surrounds me. My eyes, grown old from endlessly straining in vain for light, begin to adjust. As they open, I see a man bearing a staff. “AWAKE O SLEEPER! ARISE FROM THE DEAD!” Editor’s Note: The following is based on a precious text of the Triduum, read as the second reading in the [...]
Most Catholics seem to intuitively grasp that adoration of the cross is not idolatry. But that didn’t stop a smart-aleck high school senior like myself from pressing the point. “We do what!?” I thought. “Isn’t this idolatry!” But there it was “All, after genuflecting to the Cross, depart in silence.” It was the morning of [...]
Let us imitate St. Patrick’s single-minded love for Christ, which was made possible through his humility. By being humble like children, we can hope to one day be great in the kingdom of God, with Patrick and all the saints. Few people want to be described as “narrow-minded.” Narrow-minded people, neglecting key information, can miss [...]
As fallen human beings, we live with the threat of sin and temptation, and we can easily choose to follow these rather than Christ. Sins become the “pharaohs” in our lives—those thoughts, words, deeds, and omissions that are foreign to a life in Christ. Like the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph, these sins know not [...]
Christian pilgrimage is not either a private or public affair—it is both. It is a work of God shot through with divine wisdom—begun, sustained, and guided by God’s providential love. When the Christian goes on pilgrimage, he participates in something greater than himself. He participates in the eternal designs of God’s heart. This is part [...]
As the sun began to set on this incredible day, I looked up at the beautiful statue of Our Lady and asked her for the blessing that she promised to give to those who travel to England’s Nazareth. The Blessed Virgin invites us all to walk that trail, to trod in the footsteps of the [...]
The friar has come a long way from the young man he was when he entered. He is ready to promise everything forever. He is not capable of adding anything to Christ, but he offers the only thing he can: all of himself. Note: Nowadays, the young man who enters St. Joseph’s Province to be [...]