Pope Paul VI was just canonized a saint. Our reflections on Humanae Vitae have been building to its ultimate purpose, the one to which Pope St. Paul VI has been directing us. Almost all of the ink spilled on this…
Reflections on Humanae Vitae Part V: Life in Christ
There is No Third Way
Tertium non datur. That’s the law of the excluded middle. It is used in philosophy, especially logic, but there is a lot of other “middle” that we can exclude besides philosophy. In my last post, There is a Third Way,…
Speaking Truth in Love
A Christian is called to speak the truth in love. [Ephesians 4:15] This means to be faithful to both truth and love at the same time. But it can be challenging in difficult situations, where truth and love seem to…
Praying with Trust
I have a great prayer intention. Before I offer it up, I check out every angle as if I’m purchasing a used car. The tires are sound, because this prayer is absolutely not about me. In fact, it’s the most…
NewEvangelizers: Stirring Slumbering Souls
In Stirring Slumbering Souls, Michael Seagriff invites us to ponder 250 Eucharistic reflections and recognize two distinct voices, “the prophet calling Israel back to fidelity” and “the sweet Mother inviting us to trust in her Son.” A good many of…
Curing the Rot of the Clergy Scandal
A few years ago I broke my back. I spent a month in the hospital recovering, learning to perform basic actions like walking again. Getting out and getting home was one of the greatest reliefs of my life. About a…
Reflections of a Covenant
For the husband is the head of the wife, even As Christ is the head of the church: And he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject Unto Christ,…
Reflections on Humanae Vitae Part IV: The Fruits of Contraceptive
In our last article in this series, we focused on the ills that Pope Paul VI predicted would happen if contraceptives became widely adopted. And it turns out that Paul was a prophet to our generation, one who has been…
Staying Despite Scandal: Jesus is the Reason
A time of scandal for the church, a time when high-ranking clerics were found to be complicit in the sexual abuse of children, is a time that brings to a point the question of being part of the church. Who…
Can We Evangelize in the Midst of Scandal?
Like many Catholics, my heart hurts. It hurt years ago for those who we already knew about, including those hurt in the Philadelphia scandal, and the recent report was horrific clarification that made the old wound ache. However, the latest…