This weekend I listened to an interview with Roy Spence, author of It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For. Spence is a marketing and communications expert and was part of the team that came up with the slogan “Don’t Mess with Texas.” The slogan came about when Bob Linear, who was the [...]
This past Saturday our diocese ordained two men to the sacred priesthood. More specifically, His Eminence Francis Cardinal George of Chicago ordained the men as our diocese awaits the installation of Bishop Paprocki on June 22. Rev. Msgr. Carl Kemme, our diocesan administrator, delivered the homily and I have to say: it probably ranks in [...]
I don’t often link to other commentary on the web (the best way to find out what I’m reading on a given day is to follow me on Twitter), but this piece by Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., about whether to leave the Church in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal is too good to pass [...]
I am reluctant to enter into discussion of liturgical theology and practice. It is not the field in which I work and I have little education on the subject. That having been said, my diocese, like many others, is preparing for the Vatican’s recognitio of the translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. [...]
The indefatigable John Allen’s latest column examines the trend of “evangelical Catholicism” in the Church. He makes a number of points about this movement, which he describes as “a strong reassertion of traditional Catholic identity coupled with an impulse to express that identity in the public realm.” Perhaps most notably, and counter to the prevailing [...]
I recently finished teaching a five-week course on the history and documents of the Second Vatican Council. The course ended with a discussion on the ramifications and conflicting interpretations for the council in the 40+ years since its close. As I reflected on the intervening years I recalled the widely-cited convention that it takes at [...]
The past couple of days I’ve been listening to a series of presentations from a conference put on at Union University. The conference, Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism, looked at the future of Protestantism in America. While focused on the Southern Baptist Convention, I think the presentations have a lot to say [...]
221. Which are the chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin? The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life. – Rev. [...]
Working for the Church you get to meet a lot of interesting people from a variety of backgrounds. A principal who used to be a homeless artist, a fundamentalist Baptist-turned Episcapalian-turned Roman Catholic priest, and a former restaurant manager now giving presentations on married love and family life; I have the privilege of knowing all [...]
Tony Woodlief had a wonderful reflection in the Wall Street Journal a few days back on Chesterton, Santa Claus and why believing in the “deeper magic” is necessary for Christian faith: I suspect that fairy tales and Santa Claus do prepare us to embrace the ultimate Fairy Tale, the one Lewis believed was ingrained in [...]
