James and John make a bold request in Mark 10: “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory” (Mark 10:37). Jesus invites them to follow him into his Passion but essentially says “no” to this request, because: “to sit at my Read more…
I taught a course this summer on St. John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University for the Albertus Magnus Institute. In his description of the essence of a university and the way in which it must teach within modern culture, it may seem odd that Newman included a chapter on Read more…
I was recently interviewed by Maria Wiering of Our Sunday Visitor about the upcoming beatification (on Sep. 10th) of the Ulma Family, who was martyred by the Nazis for hiding Jews on their farm in Poland. Although only a few points could make it into the final article, I’m providing Read more…
As a follow up to my piece on true conservatism and its principles, I want to reflect on why conservatives continue to lose ground against our culture’s “religion of self” that idolizes freedom and enshrines it every more firmly in society. Over the last sixty years we have witnessed a Read more…
As the author of The Beer Option, I have a confession to make. I felt the Lord calling me about two years ago to give up alcohol, making it a sacrifice for both my physical and spiritual health. I am prone to migraines and I’m sure I was attached to Read more…
What’s the point of reading fiction? Wouldn’t it just be better to read works of theology and the spiritual life? Well, I wouldn’t replace spiritual reading with fiction. Novels and shorts stories, however, do make a contribution to Catholic life and culture by engaging our imagination in a vicarious engagement Read more…
Yesterday Pope Francis met with participants from a conference on the arts jointly organized by La Civiltà Cattolica and Georgetown University, offering remarks on the importance of the arts and literature: I have loved many poets and writers in my life, among whom I think especially of Dante, Dostoevsky and Read more…
A few years ago I wrote a popular article for Catholic Exchange, “Understanding the Mysterious Sword of St. Michael.” I proposed that these sites became dedicated to St. Michael to overcome previously established pagan sites at these high places along the line of the sun on the summer solstice, an Read more…
Rodney Stark’s famous The Rise of Christianity proposed an oft-cited model for Christian growth in the early centuries of the Church: Rather than proposing exact numbers, Stark is simply trying to prove the point that a consistent rate of growth compounds over time, even if it begins with such a Read more…
I have already remarked on the fact that Pope Francis made a non-Catholic a Doctor of the Catholic Church. St. Gregory Narek was a monk in the Armenian Apostolic Church, who died in the early 11th century. Figures like St. Gregory, provide examples of how Eastern Churches have brought saints Read more…