Especially after the election of Donald Trump, we hear almost daily that white male privilege has run its course and is to blame for nearly every ill in our society. It animates many new voices that seem to have large audiences. It is even one of the first go-to feelings when we see a video of a young Catholic male “smirking” at a Native Americ...

St. Thomas Aquinas describes the task of humility: “to temper and restrain the mind, lest it tend to high things immoderately” (Summa theologiae, II-II, q. 161, a. 1). It is truly one of the most important virtues. All sin is pride against God and a denial of humility. Therefore, our obedience to God must be a humble and loving submission to H...

Karl is the German and original form of Charles and Carlos, which means “free man.” It is one of the great names of Christian history. It was the name of seven Holy Roman Emperors, ten kings of France, two kings of England, four kings of Spain, four kings of Hungary, one Austro-Hungarian Emperor, and the baptismal name of one pope. When I lived...

Jospeh Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is attributed with saying the following: “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!” I have two problems with that quote. The first problem is that it does not actually define greatness. Is it wealth, power, popularity? Well, since he was a Pope maybe...

Great is a word I use all the time. It is a word used by almost everyone all the time. When this happens with words, they become vulgar – meaning common (as opposed to foul or dirty). With that, they can sometimes lose their magnificence. We live in a fabulous country. We are blessed. We are also in need of a resurgence of greatness. The Ameri...