RSVP

Can a Catholic in Good Conscience Attend an Invalid Wedding?

One of the more fraught decisions virtually every Catholic must face in the modern era is what to do when invited to the invalid wedding of a family member or friend. And while the attendance decision itself can be excruciating, the moral dilemmas pertaining to addressing and accommodating a loved one who entered a make-believe […]... Read More
Genesis 2

Creation and Evolution: Where Faith and Science Merge

Divine Revelation tells us that God created, and to a certain extent what He created; but did not intend to tell us exactly how or when. That’s for the realm of science and history respectively. With regard to man, the inspired text of Genesis 2:7 can be interpreted as an instantaeous act of God, or […]... Read More
Stages of life

The Psychological Disorientation of ‘Pro-choice’

One fundamental element is missing in those who can’t see that killing the preborn at any stage of development is an abomination. There is nothing in their spirituality enabling them to lift their minds above the limits of time and space in order to interpret it properly. Let’s go beneath the surface. This vision of […]... Read More
Manger

What if God Was One of Us?

Let’s play an imagination game. Let’s imagine that the invisible almighty Creator of the universe, who infinitely transcends the created order of time, space and matter, decided to become part of His creation. Like an author who writes Himself into his own novel, or an artist who paints himself into his own masterpiece, let’s imagine […]... Read More
ballot box

Necessity of Evangelization over Politics

With one disappointing election after another, we must admit that after 50 years of cultural decay, attempting to change things through the political process may be futile. Our nation as a whole has rejected Reason (the Logos) and embraced irrational power-driven hypocrisy that seeks to dominate others for one’s own selfish ends. This latter way […]... Read More

The Two Psychological Orientations of Our Age

We all sense it. All you have to do is turn on CNN or MSNBC for 20 seconds on any given night to see it. It’s a fascinating phenomenon that has gripped Western society for several decades: Half the population thinks the other half sees everything upside-down and inside-out. Put another way, today’s world is […]... Read More

Forgive 77 Times?

Sunday’s gospel reading was about forgiveness. A main theme was that since God forgives us, we should never refuse to forgive others. Forgiveness, however, is a bit complex and commonly misunderstood. What does it mean to forgive? Let’s go beneath the surface. First, forgiveness seems to have two related meanings found in Scripture and common […]... Read More

‘Real’ Difference between Catholicism and Protestantism

Since biblical times the Church has been known as the bride of Christ (cf., Eph 5:21-35). This is an important metaphor for understanding what it means to be Christian. The two elements that create an unbreakable marriage covenant are consent and consummation – when the couple says “I do” with their words, and then with […]... Read More
Pentecost

The Amazing Wonder of Pentecost

Today’s readings for Pentecost Sunday cover the Holy Spirit being released to the world and St. Paul’s preaching that Christ’s baptized followers are members of His body (the Church), because all are in the one Spirit. We can extrapolate that as the soul is the form and life of the body, the Holy Spirit is […]... Read More
confusion

Building a Spiritual Second Floor without a Foundation

Every good parent (and good authority figure in general) in the beginning spells out with clarity what the boundaries are.  Analogously, when children know the acceptable area on which they can play, they then may be free to play to their heart’s content. The fence around the yard keeps them safe  from danger. This is […]... Read More
devil reading List Game plan

The Devil’s Playbook for the End Times

Many Catholics are familiar with the story of Pope Leo XIII falling into some kind of trance after Mass one day in the 19th century and having a vision of Jesus and Satan conversing. The devil allegedly said he could destroy Christ’s Church if allowed to cause havoc for the following hundred years. Jesus granted […]... Read More