The Dispatch
“Why were you looking for me?”
Readings: • Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28 • Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10 • Col 3:12-21 or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24 • Lk 2:41-52 Being lost isn’t always […]
Jesus Christ
The Dispatch
Joy! Anticipation! Fire?
Readings: • Zep 3:14-18a • Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 • Phil 4:4-7 • Lk 3:10-18 “Great joy,” wrote G. K. Chesterton, “has in it the sense of immortality…” Joy, like love, hope, and goodness, cannot […]
The Dispatch
A Thanksgiving challenge to Catholic fathers
Every father should get to the point when it comes to Thanksgiving Day and acknowledge, even on his knees, what it is that he is almost certainly most thankful for regarding his earthly circumstances: his […]
The Dispatch
A secretary of Padre Pio remembers the indefatigable Saint
Most of us know the saints through written accounts of their lives. Many of the saints became saints themselves by reading the lives of saints. In a letter to her aunt, Saint Thérèse wrote: “I […]
News Briefs
Pope Francis: Read, reread, and be passionate about the Gospel
Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address at the Vatican, Oct. 31, 2021. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Oct 31, 2021 / 06:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday urged Catholics to read, reread, and be passionate about the Gospel.In his Angelus addr… […]
The Dispatch
Faith-filled love and the greatest commandment
Readings: • Dt 6:2-6 • Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 • Heb 7:23-28 • Mk 12:28-34 What is the most common subject of popular music? Answer: love. The Beatles claimed “All You Need Is Love.” […]
Essay
A Letter to a Priest in Crisis
A number of years ago, my spiritual director, a priest, went on a leave of absence because of various troubles. He was considering leaving the priesthood. I wrote a heartfelt letter to offer my thoughts […]
Essay
Are There Limits to Papal Power?
Following the publication of Traditionis Custodes, there have been numerous pieces written in defense of the usus antiquor, as well as others claiming that Traditionis Custodes was necessary and much-needed. Much of the frenzy surrounding […]
Essay
Jordan Peterson, C.S. Lewis, and the “wishful thinking” objection
In 12 Rules for Life, Jordan Peterson writes, I had outgrown the shallow Christianity of my youth by the time I could understand the fundamentals of Darwinian theory. After that, I could not distinguish the […]
The Dispatch
Roses, The Rose, and the Rosary
I suspect that everyone considers the rose the “queen of flowers.” In almost every culture, the rose has held quasi-mystical value. In the Greco-Roman world, the rose symbolized beauty, love and the season of spring; […]