Ecclesiology
Let’s Be Catholic
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008Today’s Catholics are called to be leaven in the new millennium. This is a tremendous challenge, as the richness of our Catholic faith isn’t reducible to mere soundbytes, and timeless Christian wisdom is often portrayed today as simply one voice among many or as the “spin” of the religious right. This all points to the [...]
Love for the Church
Monday, May 26th, 2008Nearly 50 years ago, Blessed John XIII issued an encyclical letter entitled Mater et Magistra, or “Mother and Teacher,” on Christianity and social progress. The words “Mother” and “Teacher” were aptly used by the Holy Father to describe the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ. Certainly the Church is our Teacher, and the Church’s teaching [...]
Catechetically Speaking . . .
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008Today we begin at this blog a weekly series on the Church’s catechetical mission. As I noted last week, the inspiration for this series comes from the Holy Father himself, who desires that we bridge the gap between faith and the everyday lives of believers through sound catechetical formation. This series has to start somewhere, [...]
Reality Church
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Surely one of the “lowlights” of today’s culture is “reality TV.” These programs have no plot, no substance, and no enduring value. And ironically, one hallmark of “reality TV” is that it’s eerily unreal. Staged spontaneity is neither good drama nor real living. Tragically, the radical subjectivism of our secular society reflected in reality TV [...]
Reality Church
Saturday, November 17th, 2007Surely one of the “lowlights” of today’s culture is the phenomenon of “reality TV.” These programs have no plot, no substance, and no enduring value. And ironically, one hallmark of “reality TV” is that it’s eerily unreal. Staged spontaneity is neither good drama nor real living. Tragically, the radical subjectivism of our secular society reflected [...]
Rebuilding This Temple
Friday, November 9th, 2007Today the Church celebrates the fairly unusual feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which as the Pope’s cathedral is known as the “mother church” of not only the Diocese of Rome but of the whole world. One line from the Gospel for today’s feast really struck me: “This temple has been under construction [...]
Homeland Defense
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) frequently referred to the Church on earth as the “pilgrim Church.” This image emphasizes the truth that we are a people who are on a journey to our true home. We need the supernatural virtue of hope—the virtue of the pilgrim—to remain faithful to the Lord, trusting in His infinite [...]
“Holy” Church
Friday, August 17th, 2007Last week I was involved in an online discussion with several Christians who have axes to grind with the Catholic Church. Every time I patiently answered one question, they would come up with five more. What a lot of it came down to was an assessment that the Catholic Church can’t be the true Church [...]
On this rock I will build my churches?
Monday, July 16th, 2007Today I had a letter published in a large, secular newspaper in which I came to the defense of the recent Vatican statement regarding the necessity of the Church for salvation. Last week the paper published a mischievous, front-page article blasting the Church and especially the Holy Father for taking a position that allegedly flies [...]
CDF Responds to Questions on the Nature of the Catholic Church
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007The Congregration for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican’s doctrinal office, just issued a document clarfiying the doctrine of the Church on June 29, 2007, the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. Important issues addressed in this document include the relation of Vatican II statements to prior Church teaching; the meaning of the [...]