Columns
Baptism Isn’t Merely a Symbolic Gesture
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, because we are in year A, the whole Church will hear the Gospel reading of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus. This […]
Columns
‘The Test of All Happiness is Gratitude’
In his conversion apologia “Orthodoxy,” G.K. Chesterton credits his conversion from agnosticism (a stance that basically affirms God may exist but has no personal aspect or possibility of being concerned […]
Perspective
A Year in the Eternal City
It’s hard to believe, but almost a year has passed since I last saw my beautiful homeland (the United States) and came to Europe. A lot has changed in that […]
Perspective
Why you need a rule of life
Socrates famously stated that the unexamined life is not worth living. After 2,500-ish years, those words still ring true. However, the Christian Event (the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus […]
Perspective
Are you ready to change?
“Put off the old man who is corrupted according to the desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who […]
Perspective
The Emerald City and fidelity to Christ
Here we are, in an awkward time of the year. Christmas is over, and now it just seems as though we need to sit tight and wait for Lent to […]
Perspective
The democracy of the dead: intellectual formation
When I think about the intellectual dimension of priestly formation, my mind instantly turns to my favorite chapter of G.K. Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy,” entitled, “The Ethics of Elfland.” (As an aside, […]
Perspective
Pastoral formation: jumping into reality
There were many opportunities for me to grow while I was working construction and out in the field during my high school and early college summers. A common situation for […]
Columns
Human formation and becoming a bridge
One of the titles for a pope that I have always found interesting is “Pontifex Maximus.” This title is translated to “the greatest bridge-builder.” I, of course, have never seen […]
Perspective
The spiritual dimension — living in the presence of a friend
One of my favorite aspects of seminary life is one that took me a long time to get used to: that I live in the same house as Jesus in […]
Perspective
The four dimensions of formation
The church, in her 2,000-year existence, has acquired a copious amount of wisdom. Part of that wisdom is found in the approach to seminary formation that the last century has […]