Joseph — son of David, husband of Mary, the humble builder, and adoptive father of the Messiah — stands as one of the greatest saints in the life of the Church. Throughout history, we, as members of God’s family, have realized more and more the crucial role that Joseph plays Read more…
Through our baptism, we are born again into the Body of Christ, members of Jesus’s one mystical body. This makes us not only one with Christ and recipients of his own Spirit; it also places us in relation to his Mother, who becomes our spiritual mother, and his adopted father, Read more…
We know the famous prophecy of Isaiah, “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Later in Isaiah there is another striking prophecy that complements this more famous one: “Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she Read more…
On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis gave remarks to artists on the importance of beauty, particularly “on art and its role at this critical moment in our history.” He notes three movements of beauty and its role in our current crisis, while citing the example of Read more…
Catholics have been accused of focusing on one issue for the election: abortion. Life, however, not only serves as the foundation of the common good, it also is completely interwoven with its other essential elements. Protecting life is bound up with justice as a whole and the securing of every Read more…
Five years ago, I wrote an article asking whether St. Gregory of Narek (or Grigor Narekatsi, 950-1003), an Armenian monk, the then newly announced doctor of the Church, was a Catholic. The answer is clearly that he was not, making him the first non-Catholic doctor of the Catholic Church. The Read more…
In a recent post, “I Believe in Me: Naming the New Ideology,” I focused on the ideology that surrounds us in modern media, education, and much of the culture. It works in iconoclastic fashion, breaking down traditional structures of family, religion, and government, leaving the individual supreme. We see it Read more…
The four gigantic minarets surrounding Hagia Sophia serve as a constant reminder of the Turkish triumph in 1453 over the holy city founded by the emperor Constantine. The church, turned mosque, turned museum, and now reverted to a mosque stands undoubtedly among the greatest architectural accomplishments in human history. Its Read more…
In all of my teaching (in about 50 distinct classes), I’ve seen the greatest impact of any contemporary book from John Senior’s The Restoration of Christian Culture. One line in particular always stands out, causing shock and dismay in the students: “smash the television set!” “Isn’t that so extreme? How Read more…
We are clearly facing a revolution, a radical turning away from the past–both the American founding and from Western Civilization more broadly. A wave of iconoclasm sweeps away not simply statues but even institutions, including the most foundational: the family. What is arising to fill the void? It’s not clear, Read more…