2026
The Challenger Speech and Time Sanctified
State of the Union addresses consume copious energy in the White House speechwriting shop, which is odd, given how quickly they are forgotten. President Bill Clinton declared that the “era of big government is over” in 1996, but can anyone…
Snowed in and Blessed – The Catholic Thing
It snowed last week here in the nation’s capital, and everything shut down. This storm was unusual, not so much for the amount of snow (about five inches where I live) but for the several inches of sleet that piled on top of the snow and then…
Fighting the Wicked Witches of the West
What is a feminist? This used to be an easy question to answer. When feminism simply meant equal rights and opportunities for women, most people felt comfortable identifying as such. After all, who could be against women having the right to vote…
Truth Is a Good – The Catholic Thing
Philosophers since the time of Plato have spoken about the “transcendental” properties of being – properties that all beings have, such as Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Something we might learn from this list is that truth is a good. No one…
Remembering the Rest of the Story
Several friends have recently asked for prayers as mothers, friends, even distant acquaintances are seriously ill or lie on their deathbeds. News comes, too, for those of us with memories of storied moments in sports that the great Notre Dame…
‘You Are Not Your Own’
In his excellent recent book, Strange New World, Carl Trueman cautions Christians against naïve optimism in our “chaotic, uncharted, and dark era.” It’s a judicious point. There is plenty in today’s culture to shock anyone into sobriety,…
On Loyalty – The Catholic Thing
Loyalty is a republican virtue, and more than that. “The American people have been chary of the word loyalty, perhaps because they regard it as the correlative of royalty,” Orestes Brownson says, in his great work on our country, The American…
Two for Catholic Schools Week
Steven Jonathan Rummelsburg If you send your children to a Catholic school, you should ask the principal or a teacher if they can answer two questions: “What is a human person?” and “What is the purpose of an education?” You’ll likely hear about…
Disenchantment & the Demographic Decline
From the outset of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, speculation has swirled around his stance on artificial intelligence (AI). Though an official AI encyclical has yet to be released, the Holy Father has made several comments on the matter, with some…
War – The Catholic Thing
War is a dreadful thing. If we find glory in it, it’s because we admire soldiers for their bravery, prowess, and sacrifice. I’ve known soldiers who march in parades on Memorial Day or the Fourth of July and are proud of their service, exactly as…