Kevin ClemensAt the conclusion of the third session of the Second Vatican Council, in November 1964, Pope Saint Paul VI gave an address in which he drew attention to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s spiritual motherhood for every Christian. In the course of the...
The Catholic Church teaches that “there are seven sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony” (CCC 1113). But what are these sacraments? Where did they...
There is a long tradition in the Church of praying Sacred Scripture—known as lectio divina (“divine reading” or “holy reading”)—as a privileged way of pondering God’s word in our hearts. In his excellent book, Hans Boersma...
As the season of Lent gets underway, many Catholics understandably look for a concrete plan for their prayer life to complement their disciplines of fasting and almsgiving. Some will work their way through one of the great spiritual classics, such...
Few individuals figure so prominently in the accounts of Jesus’s life in the Gospels as John the Baptist, the “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29), Teacher (Luke 3:12), and, more recently, JBap and “Creepy John.” Monikers aside, to this day John...
The onset of the Advent season finds many Catholics seeking more regular and intentional spiritual disciplines. Some will begin the new liturgical year by taking up the Liturgy of the Hours, others will commit to a holy hour in front of the Blessed...
Visitors to the minor basilica San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome are met with a somewhat puzzling sight when they come upon a famous sculpture of Michelangelo that adorns the tomb of Pope Julius II. The sculpture in question is of Moses, but what is...
This article will introduce the field of patristics and the figures commonly known as the Church Fathers by exploring a few key questions: What is patristics? When was the patristic period? Who are the Church Fathers? Are the Church Fathers still...
Persuaded by friends and teachers, I began to read St. Thomas Aquinas’s Bible commentaries alongside other modern commentaries whenever I studied Sacred Scripture. To my surprise, I found the Angelic Doctor underwhelming. Sure, there...