On September 12, 2006, almost five years to the day from 9/11, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a watershed lecture at the University of Regensburg. He argued that Islam and the modern West hold a significant tenant in common: a voluntarism that puts will above reason. For classic Islamic thinkers this meant that Allah was not bound by any restraints of...

Here in the Diocese of Nashville, dining out can get tricky – especially during the summer months when fifteen million tourists flock to the Music City. Finding just the right, out-of-the-way place before the hordes of our great out-of-town guests find it is a quest. I don’t mean to brag, but, frankly, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. A Frat...

There are many Church-y “efforts” these days.  People see the devastation of this post-whatever era we are in and want to work to recover some sanity, or sanctity, or both.  Even if the results are mixed, there’s a simple and sincere desire to bring the wildly broad love of God to people starving for it. “We all know the way we’ve been ...

As Christians we are called to both accept the reign of Christ our King and also to join with him in reigning. We should ask first, though, is Christ truly a king or is this just a nice metaphor? To answer, Christ’s Kingship is absolutely fundamental to his identity. The word Christ itself means “anointed” in Greek, which itself is meant t...