Irenaeus’s doctrine of divine pedagogy has definite application to the intellectual and spiritual life: It sets the tone for a lifestyle of quiet, patient growth in knowledge, through prayer and learning at the feet of the Lord. “Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) St. Irenaeus of Lyons is one of the major Christian [...]
Following the example of St. Thomas, in addition to performing corporal works of mercy, we should not neglect the spiritual works of mercy. Like Thomas, we must counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, and admonish the sinner. “It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. For almsgiving delivers from death, and it [...]
God did not provide us with something to offer, but someone. In Christ, our offering becomes pleasing. In Christ, the act of perfect worship is accomplished. When it comes to the worship of God, we quickly realize how little we are and how little our offering is in comparison to God’s greatness and majesty. In his [...]
John Henry Newman was born in 1801, at the beginning of a century that would see the rise of skepticism in matters of religion. Yet, simultaneously, it was a century which would see a real revival of religious orthodoxy. With respect to the latter, Newman himself might be seen as the most important and influential [...]
Jesus did not preach an escape from earth to an immaterial Heaven. Rather, he preached the coming of God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” a redemption of God’s good creation. We hope in the completion of God’s grand rescue project, which is taking shape as we speak and which will reach fulfillment [...]
Why would Christoph Schönborn—a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and a theologian who specialized in Patristic studies—dedicate so many essays and conferences to a doctrine that appears to overlook the Christian faith? Theology in The New York Times In the context of the debates caused by the “Intelligent Design” movement, an important Catholic contribution [...]
If you are unfamiliar with theological classics and want an easeful entryway, here is what you should do: run to On the Incarnation, a short treatise written by St. Athanasius of Alexandria in the fourth century, in the English translation done by Sister Penelope Lawson in 1944. It features an introduction by C S. Lewis, [...]
Often placed, more or less justifiably, in the lineage of John Courtney Murray S.J. (1904–1967), Michael Novak (1933–2017) distinguished himself through systematic efforts in the direction of building a theology of economics. At the risk of making a statement that may seem too daring, I believe that Michael Novak’s work can be considered one of [...]
Any attempt to interpret history as a whole, if it is not to succumb to gnostic myth, must posit some subject which works in and reveals itself in the whole of history and which is at the same time [the belief in] a being capable of providing general norms. —Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar, A [...]
Whether they be fairies, gnomes, cryptids, aliens, or elves, what are these creatures about which man has written for centuries? C.S. Lewis explained that the medieval mind understood them to be inhabitants of a kind of middle realm between the physical and the spiritual regions. But is this "Middle Earth" real? No matter our chosen [...]
Just as the Catholic Faith has been reduced to little more than an intellectual philosophy of life for the clergy—all head and no heart—the same happened to the laity, who depend on them for their spirituality. In the immediate aftermath of the Council of Trent, Catholic spirituality, in both theory and practice, reached a height never [...]
Contemplation is the prayer in which our love is directed toward God in Christ, where it is purified and refined until it sufficiently resembles His love for the union for which we yearn to take place. Without the infused virtues and the fruits and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were given in contemplation, [...]
Augustine’s “Confessions” is first and foremost a prayer to God. Indeed, unless we read it as a prayer, we will not understand it; we will only study it. I Burned for Your Peace: Augustine’s Confessions Unpacked, by Peter Kreeft (240 pages, Ignatius Press, 2016) Back in 1990, I had the rare privilege of teaching in [...]
When trying to understand Scripture, we need to establish an analysis of concrete terms. But if we aren’t careful, we just might explain away the beauty of descriptive language in the Bible. Saint Augustine of Hippo encountered the same issue, and not just among his youngest students. In humanities coursework, we often train students to [...]