Most Christians behave, think, and speak as if they are standing right in the middle of the universe with everything and everybody swirling around them. This worldview is as ridiculous as the medieval belief that the earth was the centre of the cosmos. The bottom line is God is the centre of all; man exists […]
In the last installment of this series, we reviewed a central argument for the partial immateriality of human nature. Specifically, we saw how the mind, in particular, must be immaterial given its power to understand the nature of material things without itself becoming those things. This, however, raises a great many questions – one of […]
I keep having the same exchange with my seriously Catholic friends whenever Pope Francis comes up in conversation. It goes something like this: we were enthused about the initial days of the election (he was saying things about evangelization that needed saying, he encouraged us to get out of “mindset ruts” and bring the gospel […]
A life without goals risks losing its meaning and purpose. If we do not have something we are aiming for, then life can easily become like a broken compass that just spins without direction. We may find our self in stagnation, boredom or complacency. Lacking goals, we can be tempted to make decisions based merely […]
In Revelation chapter 12, John sees a mysterious vision of “a woman clothed with the sun” (Revelation 12:1). This woman gives birth to the Messiah (Revelation 12:5; cf. Psalm 2:8-9, a messianic psalm), so Catholics believe her to be Mary, the mother of Jesus. Consequently, we often see this passage as strong biblical evidence for […]
The second way of proving the existence of God by St. Thomas Aquinas is that of efficient causality. It is not just any old efficient causality such as that of local motion, which is observable through human sensation. It is efficient causality at the level of existence, the level of divine creation. The Second Way: […]
The art of civilized decency and scholarly discourse is diminishing, giving way to tactics aimed at shaming the faithful. I must admit that I was concerned about this year’s college graduation ceremonies. I wondered if they would be a repeat of last year’s debacle when it came to the treatment of certain commencement speakers. We […]
An Unfair Reputation Why have the emotions earned such a poor reputation? Perhaps, the reason is that the emotions are always present in our vices, and, because of this, we most highly associate emotion with sin. Hatred can lead one to commit sins like racism and prejudice. Anger can lead one to commit sins like […]
Real love involves real hatred: whoever has lost the power of moral indignation and the urge to drive the Sellers from the Temple has lost a living, fervent love of Truth. (Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen) A few months back I posted the above quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen on my Facebook page. I was immediately […]
Many non-Catholics regard the Church with perplexity or dislike because of “myths,” or misconceptions, about her, or about her teaching or practice. I used to believe some of these myths before my conversion, and could say the same as another Protestant turned Catholic, Msgr. Ronald Knox, when asked, “Did the Church of Rome come up to […]
The secret to happiness: fall in love, get married, have babies – once undisputedly known to be the key to the majority of people’s happiness, is now presented as an oppressive societal expectation that has little to no relation to personal fulfillment. Marriage is No Longer a Worthy Goal Career success, increased disposable income, home […]
Many in the Church have made serious assertions that we can have a reasonable hope that at the Final Judgement Hell will be empty – that the Mercy of God is so great that even those that do not repent will be saved. Some have even gone so far as to assert that in the […]
So why are we Catholic? The world hates us, with a passion. By just about every indicator, the Catholic Church is losing its rank among people in the world today as a moral force for good. The ratio of parishioners per priest is increasing. There seems to be no end to the scandals within […]
The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. (Romans 1:18) A major complaint leveled by the media against the Catholic Church is that it is intolerant. Likewise, in day-to-day conversations with non-Catholics and fallen away Catholics it appears to be […]
Recently, I have begun a series on the Catholic understanding of human nature from a philosophical perspective. Before returning to the next installment in the series, I thought it best to give some commentary on pressing issues in our culture. I believe this will enhance the need for a clear and thorough understanding of human […]
The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist has been believed by Christians since the time of the Apostles. Understanding this metaphysically and describing our belief in human terms has been a development over time, but the teaching that Jesus – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – is present in the bread and wine after […]
Catholics love to ask for the saints’ intercession, and no saint is called upon more often than Mary, the mother of Jesus. While every saint has at least some devotees within the Church, Mary is loved almost universally. Just about every Catholic has some sort of devotion to her, making her by far the most […]
If you ask me what I know of the accusations against the archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., Cdl. Theodore McCarrick, I must reply, very little. I know he’s accused of sexually abusing at least one minor and three adults; while accusation isn’t proof, the reports seem credible enough to take his guilt as a working […]
This column is about worldview (metaphysics and epistemology) although it touches on social justice and politics as well. It is about the greatest challenge to the Catholic Faith and gets to the very root of the polarization both outside and inside the Church. The greatest challenge to the Catholic Faith is Postmodernism, which is […]
Trains and chains are popular analogies used to illustrate the argument for a First Cause, whom we call God. See: Reasons to Believe (p. 32) by Scott Hahn, Answering Atheism (p. 236) by Trent Horn, Who Designed the Designer? (p. 34-37) by Michael Augros, and, most recently, “What Caused God” by Trent Horn. But is […]
After we experience the touch of Jesus, we have a responsibility to become an effective witness of His goodness to those around us who are desperate for some sign of hope. I recently had a chat with a friend who was going through a tough time and was on the verge of what he said […]
I grew up in a Catholic family and attended Catholic school through high school. One of the many teachings involved in this upbringing was the aphorism my Mom frequently cited – “Never judge another until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins.” I took this to mean that we should not sit in judgment of […]
Basing itself on the words of Jesus Christ (among other things), the Catholic Church teaches that a valid sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved, but not all Christians agree. Some believe that divorce and remarriage is permissible in certain cases, and they argue that Jesus’ words in the Gospels back them up. Specifically, they point to […]
INTRODUCTION Scientism, the belief that science can explain everything about the world and ourselves, is a religion, although not formally expressed as such. When I call it a religion, I mean that it is founded on faith, a faith that its proponents say is not faith, but rationality, but which is in fact a faith […]
Ask Tony: Did the CCC 2267 Rescript Change Catholic Doctrine?
Many people argue that the rescript issued on August 2, which changed Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to call the death penalty “inadmissible,” was a change of doctrine. In fact, some have gone so far as to treat it as a heresy on a level with denying the divinity of Christ. […]
I’m angry. I’m disgusted. And I don’t like being played for a sucker. The Requirements I Must Meet As a Catholic school teacher, I’ve been required to take several “safe touching” classes. I’ve had to sign document after document in which I agree to abide by Church teaching. I am prohibited from being in a […]
Wisdom from an Existential Jewish Mystic
I don’t think Mr. Hogg would have been employed in the first place had his predecessor not suddenly dropped dead on his way to school. Mr. Hogg was what was called in those days a ‘hippy’ and would not, in the normal way of things have been accepted as a suitable candidate to teach English […]
Mt. Tabor Moments- It Is Good That We Are Here!
After roughly three years of public ministry, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain and revealed His glory to them. They had spent day after day with Jesus as He walked from town to town, preaching the Gospel and calling sinners to repent. He told them many stories, spoke numerous parables, and worked […]
Dr. Taylor Marshall had a recent post on the state of the priesthood by the numbers. The “priest to Catholics” ratio (taken from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown) indicates that in 1950 there was one priest to every 652 Catholics in the United States. In 2016 that ratio had dropped […]
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