“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6. It is not uncommon for aspects of the religious life to clash with the secular world. One area where this occurs is in the subject of humility. Catholic tradition, as well as every saint, extols the virtues of humility. In contrast, humility is not highly regarded in the secular world, often taking a backseat to self-confidence and boasting. Why does humility take such a prominent place in... Read more
The apocalypse, also known as the end of the world, has been the object of both serious theological discussions as well as less serious Hollywood movies. The subject of the apocalypse is undoubtedly intriguing, and the topic is extensive. For the purpose of this paper, I will discuss the mysterious “seven seals” mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The Unveiling The Book of Revelation is one of the most unique books in the Bible. Containing detailed and frequently frightening imagery... Read more
To the uninitiated, it is easy to view religion in general and Catholicism in particular as being dominated by prudish rules. No more is this the case when the subject is the vows taken by consecrated religious people. In this paper, I will limit myself to discussing vows known as the Evangelical Counsels. Evangelical because they are found in the Gospels (Evangelium in Latin) and Counsels because they were recommended (counseled) by Jesus. Generally reducible to poverty, chastity, and obedience,... Read more
Terms like sin and the soul are both old and familiar to most people of faith. How often, however, do we stop and think about the meaning and significance of these terms? In this paper, I would like to examine the relationship between the soul and sin. Specifically, the affect that sin has upon the soul. For the most part, Catholic theology draws its understanding of the soul from the work of Thomas Aquinas. In turn, Aquinas’ view was influenced... Read more
The title of this article may be misleading. A more accurate rendition would be “The seven last phrases (or sayings) of Christ.” Questions of semantics aside, the seven last words refer to the final statements of Christ leading up to His death. As one would expect, the words spoken by Christ have been the subject of study and speculation for two thousand years, and “the seven last words” are no exception. In this article, I will review each of the... Read more
“Ain’t there nothing sacred no more, lord, ain’t there nothing sacred no more?” – David Allan Coe A Church is broken into, and the Tabernacle is stolen. A person curses God. These are examples of sacrilege and blasphemy. In a secular and postmodern world, these terms will likely be considered old-fashioned or even ignorant. Yet these examples raise an important question. Has human history reached a place where there is no room for the transcendent? And if that is the... Read more
The Gospels tell us that Jesus suffered greatly in His earthly life, and Jesus Himself prophesizes about His suffering as we read in the Gospel of Luke. “The Son of Man [Jesus] must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Yet the fact that Jesus suffered presents a dilemma. The dilemma rests on three propositions: that Jesus is God, that God is impassible,... Read more
It seems to me that any discussion on Catholic social teaching must begin with three presuppositions or first principles. They are that human beings are created in the image of God, that we are social animals by nature, and that the Triune God is communal. With those three presuppositions as a point of departure, I will examine seven themes of social teaching in the Catholic tradition. Before commencing, however, defining what is meant by Catholic social teaching may be... Read more
We are at war with ourselves. Within every person, a conflict exists between the spirit and the body. From a Catholic perspective, the outcome of that conflict is essential to the salvation of the soul. In this paper, I will discuss an essential weapon in the conflict between body and soul; mortification. I will begin by discussing the need for mortification and how it is depicted in the Bible. Lastly, I will examine the various types of mortification common in... Read more
In the wake of tragedy, one often hears, “our thoughts and prayers are with the victims.” Recently, this seemly harmless bromide has been met with ridicule. While one expects any statement pertaining to faith to be attacked by atheists and agnostics, the phrase “thoughts and prayers” is now being held in contempt by religious people, including Christians. One such example of a Christian criticizing “thoughts and prayers” comes from the Chaplin of the United States Senate. Following the murder of... Read more
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