As the modern age was finally settling in to its total domination over the world, small groups of Catholics like G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc were sounding the alarm that our destruction was imminent.   One of their greatest fears, and the reason so much of their writing was a mystical mix of economic and philosophical theory, was that the...

Sometimes around big holidays we find ourselves in conversations with friends and family who might be attending Mass with us but are not Catholic. In today’ world, to say “no, you can’t do that” is tantamount to telling someone they are the scum of the earth with no freedoms.  So, when it comes time to explain to them that they cannot r...

I think its pretty urgent that we develop a theology of cool.  Words matter – there’s a mysterious reality that is unearthed through language.  Words are not just signs for things, but an unfolding and development of tradition and truth that make communication and communion possible.  It was the Word that was made flesh, right?  “Human sp...

When I became a Christian in high school I got involved with the Protestant ministry that introduced me to Christ.  This led eventually to me being a “leader” in this ministry and helping to host camps for teenagers.  It was wildly formative as I was able to work alongside men, young and old, and learn how they did things, handled challenges,...

You are not an angel.  You are also not a demon.  Along with such groundbreaking facts, I’d note that you are also not a beast or a tree.  Let me explain… You have a body, which is why you are not an angel or demon – both of which are pure spirit.  You also have a rational soul, which is why you are not a beast or a tree.  As a human ...

The drug addict is the prophet of our times.  A prophet doesn’t necessarily tell you the future, but tells it like it is in the now.  He’s truth’s voice.  Drug addicts prophesize through the futility of the frantic search for satisfaction.  He finds a false rest in the moment of a high, is aware it is fleeting, yet presses on in a sort of...

The modern phrase “faith journey” gets so much use that some almost feel an aversion to using it - its cliché.  And in some instances it is the surface language of relativism, since a “faith journey can take many paths”, which is covert language to say that Jesus is not the way but a way,  as if as long as we are moving and it feels spir...

St. Thomas Aquinas is not a teacher best studied as an isolated topic, but as a guide into reality.  It is often the experienced that approach St. Thomas and feel taken aback at the accuracy of his descriptions of things like vice and virtue, not because of the brilliance of his reasoning (this too of course), but because he is helping you see som...

Since you are not God, you are not self-sufficient in your being and require outside “input”.  You need a mentor as a guide, because you cannot guide yourself.  Everyone needs a mentor.  “A fool is ever right to his own thinking; the wise listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15, Knox).  So, how do we find one? The word mentor is the name o...