Jesus Christ
Advent and Christmas with the Church Fathers
Early in our marriage, my wife and I were determined to establish an atmosphere of faith in the home for our children. We wanted every day to be centered on Jesus Christ, the week would begin with the celebration of the Liturgy, and the year…
Time & Eternity – The Catholic Thing
In the 12th and 13th centuries, monks developed some of the first fully mechanical clocks. Their purpose was simple. The monks would come to chapel seven times a day to chant the praises of God and intercede for the world. Clocks enabled them to…
Saints in the Halls of Heaven
Only a few years ago – more than twenty years into my priesthood – I discovered the Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation. They have been in the Roman Missal for decades now, but many of us priests leave unexplored the treasures of the Missal –…
In Search of the Historical St. Francis of Assisi
Pope Francis left the Church with multiple controversies, some that he inherited, some that he induced. Indeed, amid the complaints about clericalism and “backwardists,” the considerable presence of LGBT and feminist concerns in recent Church…
America Has a King – The Catholic Thing
This year marks the centennial of the institution of the Solemnity of Christ the King. Pope Pius XI published the encyclical Quas primas on December 11, 1925, which sketched the theology and announced the new feast of the “Kingship of Our Lord…
Nine Brief Thoughts on the Future
We’re just weeks from 2026, and just months from America’s 250th birthday. We’re also just days from Advent, a season of self-examination and hope for Christians in preparing for the central event of human history: the birth of Jesus. It’s a…
Should Catholics Expect to Find a ‘Political Home’?
Amidst all the turmoil surrounding Cardinal Blase Cupich’s decision to honor Senator Dick Durbin last month, objections raised by the faithful (including Cupich’s brother bishops), and Pope Leo’s unscripted comments, almost no attention has been…
Who Is My Neighbor?
Fellow TCT contributor Francis Maier warmed my heart last September with a favorable mention of Alasdair MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals. This work is one of our most important recent philosophers’ most important contributions to moral…
Abortion and the Greatness of the Church
I was recently asked, again: “Why is the Catholic Church so focused on abortion?” At least this time, it was asked out of curiosity rather than with anger. I can’t imagine how such questioners perceive the Church. Do they think she is the…
To the place of the Dead
Some parts of the life of Christ cannot easily be imitated, and yet good Christians find a way. We cannot literally die with Christ each day – grandma could not literally be shot once a day – and yet we can “mortify” ourselves, that is, put to…