For this article, I’ve been asked to “dig deeper” and to share some of my inner, personal motivations for Lent this year. It’s a challenge I am happy to embrace, even though imperfectly, because throughout my career and even now I have been — and continue to be — inspired by and learn so much…
Two years after his death, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is missed for many reasons, not least among them his colorful writing style. In one notable opinion, Scalia said this: “Like some ghoul in a late night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad, after being repeatedly killed…
Can a one-day conference at a university breathe life into a cause that lately appears to have stalled: involving the Catholic laity in ending the crisis of authority and trust afflicting the Church in the wake of the sex abuse scandal? If not, here’s hoping that at least it points a way out of the…
Something that happened at a bishops’ meeting nearly half a century ago raises questions about the Vatican’s action last month telling the U.S. bishops to cancel a scheduled vote on two proposals for self-policing on sex abuse. It also illustrates the built-in tension between two interlocking principles – “primacy” and “synodality” – that today are…
We are in very tumultuous times in the stock market. One day it is down 600 points and the next day it is up 1,000. But this isn’t the time to panic. After 10 years of very cheap money which has driven up asset prices, including the stock market, the Fed has been normalizing interest…
As practicing Roman Catholics, the title may seem obvious. Of course, Jesus Christ became flesh and blood so that He could die on the Cross and save us from Original Sin. This may lead us to wonder why we celebrate this Feast of the birth of Christ with so much festivity, while the Easter Triduum…
“Why, it is asked, do no miracles occur nowadays, such as occurred in former times?” wrote Saint Augustine of Hippo, who lived from 354 to 430 A.D.. This same question asked in the early 5th century is not so different from one asked by thousands of Christians throughout the world today. People often wish they…
On the morning of November 14, 1921, just outside of Mexico City, a young man by the name of Luciano Perez Carpio entered one of the most important and sacred churches in the world bearing a bouquet of flowers. This was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the shrine on Tepeyac Hill to which…
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus (Romans 15:5) — The 2018 “Summer of Sorrow” has proven to be a tumultuous time for the Church. The Barque of Peter has been rocked by scandal after scandal, and many Church leaders…
First Things—The medieval Jewish sage Maimonides counted 613 commandments, or mitzvot, in the Law that God gave his people, Israel. The 20th-century Jewish philosopher Emil Fackenheim, who escaped the Nazis’ genocidal clutches and devoted part of his scholarly life to pondering the moral meaning of the Holocaust, formulated what he called the 614th commandment: Give…
I, like many of you, have been disheartened by the unfolding scandal regarding now Archbishop Theodore McCarrick – a scandal we thought had been sufficiently handled in 2002 with the implementation of the Dallas Charter, which adopted a zero tolerance policy for sexual indiscretions with minors by priests and deacons. (It has come to light…
September 28, 2017
It’s a commonplace in education that “a textbook is only as good as the teacher who teaches it.” But according to Michael Van Hecke (pictured left), a seasoned headmaster of a Top 50 school and the founder of the Catholic Textbook Project, sometimes an exceptional textbook can transform a good teacher into a better teacher—or even into a great
June 15, 2017
Truthfully, it is impossible to effectively PROVE that we—in 2017, as a society/as humans—are more intelligent than those who lived centuries (or millennia) ago, or vice versa. However, if we consider a few thoughts, anecdotes and some data, we might arrive at a reasonable
December 6, 2016
Brush off those memories of college and young adult days. What things did you do, or think, or say, that make you wince today? Think back just three months ago… I bet you’ll find a few things for which you’d like to call a mulligan (or maybe you already have done that, through the blessed sacrament of Confession). Even in business, how many times have you wished you knew then what you know now?! The truth is, we are human, not angels. We live in the physical world; soul AND body. It’s a precarious path we tread, every minute of our lives, and yet we take so much for granted. But two realities put the matter into sharp
June 8, 2016
Many people, including most scientists, teachers, and people educated in the public school system over the past 30-40 years, believe in the THEORY of evolution and place Charles Darwin on an untouchable pedestal. Yet, his close evolutionary cohort and friend, Alfred Wallace (1823-1913), declared emphatically and conclusively that there is no intelligent / significant life
May 3, 2016
Mercy has a story to tell. It’s a familiar story—and a Catholic story. For this reason, it is not surprising that Pope Francis has singled out Jesus’s parables as the narrative arc for this Jubilee Year of Mercy. Mercy is so tied to the concept of story that to understand mercy is to understand story, say those in the know about such things.
March 9, 2016
Pope Francis wants mercy—and he wants it now. So to make sure this mercy happens, the Holy Father has taken an extraordinary step
March 4, 2016
As the Eternal Bride of Christ, the Catholic Church never stops working for the salvation of souls.
And on March 5-6, Catholic dioceses around the world will be working for such souls, literally, around the clock.
In the official announcement for the Year of Mercy, the Holy Father called for a “24 Hours for the Lord” and Catholic dioceses around the world are taking up the call by throwing open the confessional doors for an entire day.
Catholic Business Journal spoke with Catholic priests who are
January 19, 2016
What does it mean to be a pro-life business? Can Catholic business leaders be expected to uphold a pro-life mission while also maintaining a lucrative bottom line? Catholic Business Journal interviews several Catholic business leaders who excel in answering these questions.
December 19, 2015
And it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us. (Luke 2:15)
