. The Creed teaches us that there is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” “One Lord,” says St. Paul, One Faith, One Baptism.” (Ephesians 4:5) In the 4th century, when the Donatists of North Africa claimed to be the one true church, St. Augustine invoked the unity and catholicity of the Church against them: “the […]
Continue readingAuthor: David Anders
“Successful” Marriage and the Catholic Faith
Marriage and family are in the news. Pope Francis has just convened an extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops to discuss “the crisis of the family” in the modern world. The media and even some hierarchs have already floated proposals for addressing the crisis. But what do we mean by the crisis in family […]
Continue readingLove and Sacrifice
Want to know the secret of happiness? The secret is that there is no secret. Happiness is love, communion, and fellowship. Happiness is meaning in the context of relationship. We all know this. Scientific research confirms it. Every great religious and philosophical tradition has taught it. So why do we find it so difficult sometimes? […]
Continue reading#Recollection in the Age of Twitter: Witness of Luigi Guissani
. Fr. Luigi Guissani was the founder of the ecclesial movement known as Communion and Liberation. He was beloved by many, including the last three popes. Pope Benedict once said of him that he was “wounded by the desire for beauty.” For Guissani, the Pope added, Christianity was not simply “an intellectual system, a collection […]
Continue readingWhy ISIS Threatened the Pope
ISIS, the Sunni Islamist movement now wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria, announced its intention to assasinate Pope Francis. ISIS representatives claim the Pope “bears false witness” against Islam and is “the greatest exponent of the Christian religions.” For that, apparently, he deserves to die. What has the Pope said about Islam that they find […]
Continue readingAnswering Hitchens: What Can Faith Do?
Before his death, atheist Christopher Hitchens wrote a best-selling book attacking religious belief. It had the provocative title God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Hitchens promoted the book throughout the world by debating with religious believers of many types: Christians, Jews, Moslems, and Hindus. In these debates, he would often challenge his opponent, […]
Continue readingThe Promise of Salvation
Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah spoke about the salvation that would come to the world through Christ: “I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel,” Jeremiah wrote, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:31-33) Often when we speak about salvation, we have in […]
Continue readingOn Protestants Becoming Catholic – The Doctrine of Justification
. Martin Luther’s doctrine of “Justification by Faith Alone” is at the heart of the Protestant rejection of Catholicism. He called it “the article on which the Church stands or falls.” Luther once said that if the Pope would only teach justification by faith, he would kiss the Pope’s feet and carry him in his […]
Continue readingProtestants Becoming Catholic: Justification by Faith Alone
Martin Luther’s doctrine of “Justification by Faith Alone” is at the heart of the Protestant rejection of Catholicism. He called it “the article on which the Church stands or falls.” Luther once said that if the Pope would only teach justification by faith, he would kiss the Pope’s feet and carry him in his hands. […]
Continue readingDoes the Big Bang Make God Unnecessary?
This week a man asked me, “Does the big bang make God unnecessary?” One could give a simplistic answer: “Of course not! Where do you think the big bang came from?” But there is a better answer, one more complex and more true. At root, this man’s question reveals a profound misunderstanding of the Catholic […]
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