The Dispatch
Providence, Prosperity, and Purpose
On the Readings for Sunday, June 17, 2018 […]
St. Augustine
Books
Lessons from spiritual masters about life and prayer
Two millennia of Christianity have yielded a tremendous number of brilliant, holy, and insightful men and women. Many of these men and women penned works of staggering beauty and spiritual insight, which have become widely […]
Columns
Creation’s Rebellion: What changed after the Fall?
When faced with the question of why there is so much suffering in the world, the default Christian answer is because of Adam’s sin. This belief is certainly not without warrant. Indeed, a number of […]
Analysis
The Church, true tolerance, and the meaning of “welcome”
It’s a common belief in modern day society that all organizations be inclusive of everyone. The thought that one’s personal beliefs—and the behavior one chooses to engage in—should be accepted by everyone in the name […]
The Dispatch
Lent: A journey, an encounter, and a time of purification
Readings: • Ex 17:3-7 • Psa 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 • Rom 5:1-2, 5-8 • Jn 4:5-42 Lent is not merely a season, but a journey, an encounter, and a time of purification. Benedict XVI, in […]
The Dispatch
Salt, Cities, and Disciples
Readings: • Is 58:7-10 • Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 • 1 Cor 2:1-5 • Mt. 5:13-16 It is small, simple, and composed mostly of something that doesn’t sound tasty at all: sodium chloride. But the […]
Essay
Sin, cheap grace, and John the Baptist
Editor’s note: The following homily was preached on the Second Sunday of Advent (December 4, 2022), at Mount Calvary Church in Baltimore (Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter). We have completed one-fourth of our […]
The Dispatch
Living Advent in an age of functional paganism
Christianity haunts our culture. It appears to us as a phantom presence, pale shimmering and gossamer, which we glimpse from time to time – in places familiar, to make them strange; and in places strange, […]
Books
Plumbing the depths of a dozen works of classic literature
The rich literary patrimony of Western civilization can be daunting. Where to begin? Which books are truly great? Which works of literature have stood the test of time? Joseph Pearce’s most recent book is titled […]
The Dispatch
Zacchaeus, the Silly Tree, and the Meaning of Life
Readings: • Wis 11:22-12:2 • Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14 • 2 Thes 1:11-2:2 • Lk 19:1-10 “That’s a good question. I’ve never really thought about it.” The remark was made a number of […]