Jesus Christ
Where Did Francis Go Awry?
When I retired after a decade of service at the Holy See, things were not going well. That was in 2016. Truth be told, things were already not going well even under Benedict XVI. The Roman Curia is a bureaucratic mess. But magisterial messes are…
Of Muslim Cowherds, Catholic Martyrs, and Institutional Decline
It’s a common today to lament the widespread loss of faith in institutions: governments, schools, colleges and universities, courts, medical authorities, religions, and (not least) the Catholic Church. There are many reasons, good and bad, for…
The Thief of Joy – The Catholic Thing
“Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee!” Now, if that’s your response to today’s Gospel (Luke 18:9-14), then you probably missed the point. Because there’s more than a bit of the Pharisee in each of us, and not enough of the tax collector. Our…
Patronal Prayers – The Catholic Thing
For devotees of Cardinal Newman, the coming week was already highly anticipated, with his formal declaration as a Doctor of the Church on the solemn feast of All Saints. Then this week, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV would also name him…
Poetry as Prayer, and Prayer as Poetry
Of all the arts, poetry is the most inherently religious. Although it is often defined by the use of figurative language, rhythm, and sound devices, what really separates poetry from prose is its subject matter, which transcends the literal and…
The Holy Sepulcher in New York
There’s a show, To the Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, at the Frick Collection in Manhattan (the entrance is just off 5th Avenue at E. 70th St.). It will run until January 5, 2026, and is well worth seeing. If you’ve not…
God Talk
Prayer, an elusive conversation with God, confuses many as St. Paul tells us, “For we do not know how to pray as we ought.” (Romans 8:26) The Spirit, Who prays in us “with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26), searches our hearts, revealing…
The Wisdom That Directs Reason
In His discourse at the Last Supper, Christ teaches the Apostles about three related themes: knowing and seeing God, loving God, and being one with God. He holds out these three as different aspects of a single phenomenon. Christ tells the…
Pope Leo XIV, St. John Paul II, and the Fertility Crisis
Pope Leo XIV has joined the chorus of those lamenting the implosion of global fertility levels. Speaking after a visit with the President of Italy, the Pope urged action to implosion of fertility and the collapse of childbearing. Encouragingly,…
The Two Forms of Christian Service
Christianity is a religion of paradoxes. One is the strange relationship between the natural world that we see and the supernatural world that we do not. The latter is where God resides and is our ultimate home. At the same time, it is…