Vatican II
Is modern man capable of the liturgical act?
Friday, June 25th, 2010That’s the question Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., asked (and answered) at the Liturgical Institute of the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, where he delivered the Hildebrand Distinguished Lecture. His talk was entitled “Glorify God by your life: evangelization and the renewal of the liturgy.” A couple excerpts… From early in [...]
Declarations of Independence
Friday, July 4th, 2008Today we celebrate our “independence,” and it’s good that we do so. The independence that we’re celebrating is our country’s independence from tyranny and foreign rule, allowing us to live as free citizens. We recognize that we’re not completely independent, for good and for ill, from other nations, and that the exercise of the personal [...]
Vatican II Today
Friday, April 25th, 2008It’s hard to believe, but we are closing in on the 50th anniversary of the election of Pope John XXIII, who convoked the Second Vatican Council, the 21st ecumenical council in the Church’s history. Pope Benedict XVI candidly admits the difficulties that have hampered the implementation of Vatican II. For the Holy Father, the key [...]
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 [...]
A Return to History
Monday, January 21st, 2008The Church faces great intellectual challenges in every age. In the early Church, the main problem was in dealing with philosophical problems like Gnosticism, which held that the material world is evil and that it was absurd for God to become man and to consist of three persons. The Church happily submitted to such philosophical [...]
Growing up with Vatican II
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007Pope John Paul II once called the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) the interpretive key to understanding his pontificate. For many of us, particularly my generation, Vatican II also is the key for understanding our own pilgrimage of faith. Pope John XXIII called the 21st ecumenical council only months before I was born, and the Council [...]
The Book of God
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007The next worldwide Synod of Bishops is going to focus its attention on Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum. This pivotal conciliar document has called Catholics to draw more effectively upon the life-changing power of Sacred Scripture. And yet, Dei Verbum is not simply about the Bible. The title of this document [...]
Vatican II is a home game
Sunday, September 9th, 2007Over a decade ago I took a course from Scott Hahn where he posed an elaborate question about responding to a Protestant interpretation of a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.