Theosis, Pastoral Accompaniment, and the Law of Gradualism
Back in January the Lord put on my mind and heart an idea for a theological essay that he wanted me to write. I don’t say that lightly here. Never before has something burned within me until I wrote it…
Be Perfect
The gospel reading today ends with Jesus summing up his great Sermon on the Mount by saying, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We can easily misunderstand what this passage means and leave feeling like Jesus is placing…
Holiness isn’t about trying harder
I’ve noticed that “growing in holiness” is usually presented by popular Catholic media as something like “We just gotta pray more and try harder, then the Lord will make us holier.” As if becoming holy will take a lot of…
“My power is made perfect in weakness”
When the Church takes up someone’s cause for sainthood, one of the things they look for is heroic virtue. Drawing from Pope Benedict XIV and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic Encyclopedia defines “heroic virtue” as “…a habit of good conduct that has…
Bishop Barron’s podcast about Amoris Laetitia
I love Bishop Robert Barron. I just listened to his talk from the World Meeting of Families last month in Ireland where he spoke on chapters seven, eight, and nine of Amoris Laetitia and I noticed two things. First of all, in an…
Judging the Insignificant, Domesticating the Mystery
One of the advantages of working at a parish is that I rarely have a good excuse for not making it to Mass once or twice during the week. This morning the visiting priest reflected on the first reading during his homily…
Everyone’s a Little Bit Gnostic
Have you ever thought that you could convince someone to become Christian or Catholic? Have you ever thought that if you could articulate the best argument for something that people would just have to believe you? Have you ever thought…
St Paul’s Letter Against Pelagianism
Pope Francis appears to to be pretty concerned with something called “Pelagianism.” He has made multiple references to it throughout his pontificate, including his new Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, and recently the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a…
Humanae Vitae: truth, accompaniment, and culpability
Therefore, it must be emphasized once more that the pastoral intervention of the Church in support of the family is a matter of urgency. Every effort should be made to strengthen and develop pastoral care for the family, which should…
Pro-Lifers vs Pope Francis
Kristina Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, recently wrote an article titled “Where Pope Francis Misses the Mark” where she expresses her concerns for something the Holy Father taught in his Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate. Hawkins expresses…
