Perspective
Let Us Double Our Seminarians!
It was fully my intention to have all of the Winona-Rochester seminarians stand at one point during my installation Mass homily. I had told the people that, in the words of St. […]
Perspective
The 60th Anniversary of Vatican II
I am composing these words on October 11, 2022, which is the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, easily the most momentous ecclesial event of the 20th century. […]
Perspective
Four Ways to Grow the Church
Last week, I met with the deans of our diocese to discuss a number of issues, the most prominent of which was the ongoing process of merging some of our […]
Perspective
Queen Elizabeth II: Faithful Disciple
I was in Rome last week to give a presentation to the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences. I was supposed to go the following week with my Word on Fire team […]
Perspective
Our Catholic President and the Moral Issue of Our Time
On numerous occasions throughout his public career, President Biden asserted his personal belief as a Catholic that human life begins at conception and that abortion, therefore, is morally wrong. He […]
Perspective
Gun violence and the deep sadness
Like every other reasonable person in our society, I’m worried sick about the phenomenon of gun violence, and I’m especially concerned about what it reveals regarding the status of young […]
Perspective
Why culture was healthier when Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers were around
When I was a kid, it was a bit of a rite of passage in my family to receive permission to stay up late enough to watch Johnny Carson’s monologue on […]
Perspective
Providence and vocation found in ‘Father Stu’
Mark Wahlberg’s new film “Father Stu” is one of the most theologically interesting films to come out in a long time. It considers some of the thorniest and most puzzling themes in the sacred […]
Perspective
Why doing what is right in your own sight is such a bad idea
What does the Bible think about our current cultural fascination with finding our own voices, setting our own agenda, doing things according to our own lights? Is the Bible for […]
Perspective
The poison of gossip
Just last week, I was at St. Joseph Abbey in Covington, Louisiana, not far from New Orleans. I was there to address about 30 Benedictine abbots from around the country […]
Perspective
‘Strange Rites’ and the promise of natural religion
Along with many other cultural commentators, I have been tracing for the past many years the phenomenon of religious disaffiliation, the sobering fact that armies of people, especially the young, […]
Perspective
The Psalms: The Church’s songbook
I had the extraordinary experience last month of recording all one hundred and fifty Psalms for the new Catholic Hallow App. Over the course of several sittings, sequestered in a tiny studio, […]