The Way of Beauty
Unemployment and St. Joseph the Worker
In 1955, Pope Pius XII designated May 1st as the feast of St. Joseph the Worker to counter two other... Read more
How the Church Built Western Civilization: Part Two
Last week’s essay described how the Benedictine monks began to rebuild continental Europe after the barbaric invasions. After the sack... Read more
How the Church built Western civilization: part one
At his papal election in 2003, why did Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger take the name Benedict? Because it was the Benedictine Order... Read more
Plunging into the baptismal waters of Easter
An Excerpt from “The Blow of Mercy”“I still remember my first high dive,” he began. “At some point, you have... Read more
The folly of the Cross and the glory of the Lord
What is the meaning of suffering? Holy Week confronts each of us with this inscrutable question. Whether physical, mental, emotional... Read more
'Francis, go and rebuild my Church'
Last week, when Pope Francis addressed 5,000 secular and Catholic journalists and media, he spoke of how the role of... Read more
'Oriented toward gregorian chant'? What does this phrase mean?
It’s so beautiful, I could faint! This will surely be your response if you should want to visit the website... Read more
Feasting on Sacred Architecture
In 2008, Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a consulter for the Pontifical Council for Culture, spoke about “the blight of and iconoclastic... Read more
Benedict XVI on Sacred Music
Not since Pope St. Pius X (1903-14) has a pontiff befriended sacred music more passionately than Benedict XVI. At the... Read more
Fasting and feasting
From primitive times, fasting has been practiced for three basic reasons: the magical, the ethical and the religious. Apparently, the results... Read more
Role models for Lent
In the year 300, you could be put to death if you were a Christian. In 400, you could be... Read more
'Climb ev’ry mountain'
Athanasius cut a curious figure, a dwarf-like man with hooked nose, short beard, and fiery temper. Born in A.D. 295... Read more
'I have to become me, and that me has to become God'
The Christian writers of the first and second centuries paint a picture of the Early Church’s encounters with a hostile... Read more
The Former Prosecutor
Last Spring, New York City’s Yeshiva University invited a group of bishops to a dialogue with Jewish scholars. One of... Read more
The nation's other pastime
Would we Catholics feel at ease in the company of the Early Christians? Would they feel at ease in our... Read more
A fresh beginning
The New Year is the perfect place to start anew. Periodically, if not daily, organizations evaluate themselves to determine if... Read more
Are You Happy?
We face the New Year without having yet caught our breath from the momentous events of the last. The underlying... Read more
The twelve days of Christmas
Down through the centuries, the Christmas narrative has been told and re-told, yet we never tire of it. Why not?... Read more
A grieving nation on the Eve of Christmas
The mystery of evil has struck again. This time in a lovely elementary school where all good things are taken... Read more
The Jesse Tree, or Who were Jesus’ relatives?
You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relatives. So goes the saying. The Matthean gospel (1:1-17) lists... Read more
