Sunday, March 17, 2024
Do Not Reproach a Man Who is Turning Away from Sin
Saturday, March 09, 2024
Review of Angel Studios' Cabrini
Sunday, February 18, 2024
In Memoriam: Bob Christian (1941-2023)
Monday, February 05, 2024
February Hiatus
Hey friends! I'm probably going to be taking a blogging hiatus for February. Don't worry, I am fine, not burned out or nothing like that (if anything, I've got more writing ideas swirling in my head than ever before). I have some professional matters I need to clear off my plate and some writing commitments for other platforms I need to attend to, so I'll be busy with that for awhile.
Take it easy, folks. Catch up with you mid-Lent.
Sunday, January 28, 2024
The Lord Weighs the Heart
In the aftermath of Fiducia supplicans, I think one of the greatest tragedies we are witnessing is the obfuscation of the way grace draws us despite our weaknesses. There are two aspects to this obfuscation, the first relating to our real capacity to obstruct grace, the second relating to the ability of grace to reach us despite our sins. We will consider each in turn.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
A Segregated Church
Last month on the Unam Sanctam Catholicam website, I published a lengthy article chronicling the segregation of the Catholic schools and parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans following the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884), which called for separate black facilities as a means of more effectively ministering to the needs of black Catholics. It is quite an illuminating article for those interested in American Catholic history and how the hierarchy navigated the "color line" that was so prevalent in late 19th century America.
Monday, January 15, 2024
Wisdom and Folly by Rob Marco
Tuesday, January 09, 2024
Recovering a Morality of Happiness
Saturday, January 06, 2024
A New Year and Epiphany Greeting
Sunday, December 31, 2023
"I Carefully Block My Ears With Wax": Marcel De Corte to Jean Madiran
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Bad Humanae Vitae Parallels
In the wake of scores of bishops rejecting Fiducia Supplicans globally, popesplainers have resorted to comparing Fiducia Supplicans to Humanae Vitae as a way to deflect criticism of the document. The hyperpapalist website Where Peter Is has said that critics of Fiducia Supplicans "need to be reminded of the reception of Humanae Vitae...before asserting that the public reactions to magisterial documents are markers of its "failure.'" Then there is this little gem, which was followed by a piece from the same influencer on all of the similarities between Fiducia Supplicans and Humanae Vitae.
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Six Books I Worked On This Year
Sunday, November 26, 2023
How to Tell Christian Prayer from New Age Meditation
We live in a world which rejects Catholic tradition while simultaneously professing great interest in spiritualities influenced by the New Age. Christians have been traditionally reluctant to embrace such practices, as they contain elements that are fundamentally opposed to the most basic tenets of Christianity. Some, however, have merged various elements of eastern mysticism and New Age neo-paganism with traditional Catholic spirituality, thrown in some Christian vocabulary and are now peddling these practices as compatible with Catholicism. For example, the method of "Centering Prayer" promoted by the late Cistercian monk Basil Pennington is a good example, but there are others. These practices are promoted as Christian forms of "contemplation", and Catholics are encouraged to participate. In this article we will look at how to discern whether a spiritual practice is authentically Catholic or just New Age esoteric mysticism in a Christian veneer. We will use the 'Centering Prayer' spirituality developed by Fr. Thomas Keating and Basil Pennington as an example, but what we will say can be applied to any questionable spirituality.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
In What Sense is the Pope Above Canon Law?
Does this literally mean, however, that the pope can break canon law at will as a normal exercise of his authority? When the pope violates canon law, is this to be understood as a legitimate exercise of his juridical authority?
Sunday, November 12, 2023
"Strict Consistency with the Past"
Whilst casually flipping through my old copy of the 1929 New Catholic Dictionary, I looked up its entry for "Pope" and found an interesting little nugget. After a rather boiler-plate explanation of papal authority (universal, immediate, perpertual, etc.), it addresses the question of whether pontifical power is to be understood in an absolutist manner. After discussing the pope's practical dependence on the curia for his governance, the article answers the question in the negative: