Jesus Christ
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…
A Peek under the Hood
I’ve used personal computers for work and play since 1982. My first PC was a Kaypro II. The Kaypro was a high-tech marvel back then, and as a bonus, it was (in theory) “transportable.” Sturdy and reliable, it had the user-friendly mobility of…
Of IVF and the Full Gospel of Life
President Trump recently announced measures to expand access to and reduce costs associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is being billed as a pro-family and pro-life effort to help “American families have more babies.” While the…
Softly and Gently, Dearly-Ransom’d Soul
St. John Henry Newman, at age fifteen, embarked on a decades-long journey: in the words of his motto, ex imaginibus et umbris in veritatem (“From images and shadows into the truth”). For many years on his theological sojourn, Newman stood by…
All Hallows’ Eve – The Catholic Thing
Readers of books, and specifically fantastic books by Charles Williams and other Inklings, are summoned. I do not like them as much as I should, for I have never been a fan of fantasy literature, and I note that among the Inklings, only J.R.R.…