Readings for August 15, 2013: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary I once asked a college theology class if anyone could explain the doctrine of the Assumption. A student replied, “Yeah, that’s the teaching whereby the Catholic…
Solemnity of the Assumption
The Power of Story: An Interview with Joseph Pearce
I recently had the pleasure of talking with Joseph Pearce about the power of personal stories, especially as a means of evangelism. He’s uniquely well-suited to the topic: he has taught and written on fictional characters’ journeys, and he has shared others’ stories…
3 Catholic Responses to John Boswell’s “Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe”
As of late, the internet has been buzzing about a book written nearly 20 years ago called Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe. It was written by homosexual activist John Boswell and was published just after he died. But there…
Hope in the Face of Depravity
“Now, venerable Brethren, you know the times in which we live; they are scarcely less deplorable for the Christian religion than the worst days, which in time past were most full of misery to the Church. We see faith, the…
Hometown Prophet
Sometimes, sharing our faith in our own communities can be one of the biggest challenges we face as evangelizers – even Jesus struggled as a hometown prophet. When Jesus returned to Nazareth in Luke 4, they questioned His authority. They…
Faith and Belief
Readings for August 11, 2013: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time I recently visited Italy and was reminded of the religious contrast between America and Europe. In Europe, large numbers of people consider themselves agnostics or even atheists. In America, something…
Following the Example of Edith Stein
71 years ago today, on August 9, 1942, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) was gassed to death at the Auschwitz death camp. In the eyes of the Nazi government, which had taken over Poland three years before,…
Organic Catechesis with the Bible
Fellow blogger Ruth Curcuru (who uses the handle RAnn) recently commented on a catechetical post from my blog, observing that the current catechetical model takes “a topic-based approach that uses scripture as a resource, rather than a scripture study approach.” …
Live the Love of Marriage
The other day I was working on a project with several other men. During the course of the day one of them got several calls and texts from his wife. When his phone chimed, he would exclaim in a mocking…