Infallibility, Councils, and Levels of Church Authority

Explanation of the Subtleties of Church Teaching and Debate with Several Radical Catholic Reactionaries [words of several radical Catholic reactionary opponents will be in blue] I. THE REACTIONARY POSITION STATED   I do not accept the infallibility of Vatican II. I do not because not even the Pope who promulgated it, Paul VI, denied its […]

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Conscience Must be Formed in Harmony with the Church

Proof from Holy Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: I. THE JUDGMENT OF CONSCIENCE 1777 Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and […]

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A Conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, teacher, and author of thirteen books, among them the memoir Leaving Church and the New York Times–bestselling Learning to Walk in the Dark. From 1998 until her retirement last year, Taylor held an endowed chair in religion and philosophy at Piedmont College. She has also served on the […]

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Conscience: the Catholic (and Cardinal Newman’s) View

  A Catholic wrote, troubled about something he had read (his words will be in blue): *** [A self-described Catholic] columnist wrote this in a recent article in my diocesan newspaper that “the deepest strand of Catholic tradition insists that even if one’s conscience is in error one must follow the directives of conscience.” The same author […]

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Nature of Tradition & Church: (vs. Two Lutheran Pastors)

Pastor Larry A. Nichols (Lutheran – Missouri Synod, or “LCMS”) is the author of several books, including Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions, and the Occult (Zondervan Publishing House, 1993, with George A. Mather & Alvin J. Schmidt), Masonic Lodge (Zondervan, 1995; with George A. Mather & Alan W. Gomes), Discovering the Plain Truth: How the Worldwide Church of God Encountered the […]

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Anathemas of Trent & Excommunication: An Explanation

The vivid Greek term anathema, meaning “accursed,” is directed by the Council of Trent and other Catholic ecumenical councils primarily towards doctrines, rather than persons, based on the ancient practice in the Church of condemning heretical teachings — a procedure itself derived biblically from passages such as Galatians 1:8-9 and 1 Corinthians 16:22 (the latter has anathema both in Greek […]

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Healing From Old Hurts

Forgiveness is a common subject. We frequently hear “inspirational” quotes about forgiveness and letting go. But what does forgiveness and letting go really mean and what steps do we need to take to truly be able to heal from past hurts? Forgive–Forgiving doesn’t mean pretending “everything’s OK” or acting as if more healing doesn’t need […]

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Wabi-Sabi: Living with Beauty and Ugliness

Yesterday, a man might have killed me. Both receptionists were away from the counter when I entered the waiting room for a physical therapy appointment. The waiting room, shared by several different offices, was lonely in mid-morning with only one man wearing all black and headphones sitting slightly hunched. I took a seat as far […]

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Classic Catholic Reflections on Indulgences

A. Servant of God John A. Hardon, S .J. ‘The remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church, which, as minister of the redemption, […]

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Classic Catholic Reflections on Penance

I. PENANCE: INTRODUCTION / DEFINITIONS 1. Penance A. Servant of God John A. Hardon, S. J. The virtue or disposition of heart by which one repents of one’s own sins and is converted to God. Also the punishment by which one atones for sins committed, either by oneself or by others. And finally the sacrament […]

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Classic Catholic Reflections on Purgatory

Servant of God John A. Hardon, S. J. The place or condition in which the souls of the just are purified after death and before they can enter heaven. They may be purified of the guilt of their venial sins, as in this life, by an act of contrition deriving from charity and performed with […]

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Classic Reflections on the Communion of Saints

The following material is from the first draft of my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (1994). It ran about 750 pages and contained many citations (along the lines of Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict). I revised the whole thing in 1996, incorporating citations from the new Catechism and omitting much material (particularly early Protestant history). I think […]

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Catholic Conversion: Random Thoughts & Reflections

***** When it comes to things like conversion (to Christ or to another faith community) it really comes down to faith. This is how conversion works. We are not computers or machines. We are whole people. Christianity is a faith, and requires faith to adopt (in whatever one of its brands). There is no avoiding […]

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Flawed Conversion Blurb & James White’s Personal Insults

Words of the anti-Catholic polemicist James “Dr.” [???] White will be in blue. ***** King of the anti-Catholics, Reformed Baptist apologist James White has issued his by now standard mocking “reply” to any reasoned criticism I offer to his work (the latest one having to do with his unfortunate and ultimately heretical claim that “vicar […]

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James White’s Lies Re the Return of Francis Beckwith to the Church

It seems that Bishop White was itching for some good discussion on this matter and wanting very much to defend his atrocious ethics of announcing someone’s conversion before the party in question wanted to announce it. He could have done so here, or he could have on Jimmy Akin’s blog, in a discussion that had […]

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Q & A: Catholic View on Sexual Morality & Contraception

I’m not simply giving my opinions, but seeking to always represent the Catholic Church’s teachings. Paraphrases of actual questions asked are in blue. * * * * * Why would Onan be killed for the sin of contraception, and why was this such a rare occurrence? The problem of the contraception advocate (and believer in biblical inspiration, and one […]

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Reflections on the Spiritual Motherhood & Mediation of Mary

From the 750-page first draft version of my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (1994). Protestant quotations will be in blue; Orthodox in green. ***** I. Introduction Dom Ralph Russell “Distinguished Anglican scholars (Hoskyns, Lightfoot), besides . . . Roman Catholics, suggest that in a text to which St. John attaches such importance on Calvary […]

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Reflections on Mary: Preliminaries & Devotional Excesses

[From the original, much-larger 1994 version of my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism. Words of Protestants will be in blue] ***** I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION C. S. Lewis  “There is no controversy between Christians which needs to be so delicately touched as this. The Roman Catholic beliefs on that subject are held not only with the […]

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Orthodoxy & Contraception: Continuity or Compromise?

[with Fr. Deacon Daniel G. Dozier] Chapter 9 (pp. 225-244) of my book, Orthodoxy and Catholicism: A Comparison (3rd revised edition, 2015), co-authored with Fr. Deacon Daniel G. Dozier, M.A., who is a Byzantine Catholic clergyman, with degrees in theology and organizational leadership. He is the author of The Twelve Great Feasts of the Messiah and the […]

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Does the Holy Eucharist Give Us Spiritual “Power”?

I received a remarkably critical letter (in the worst sense of that term), in response to my last column in The Michigan Catholic, entitled, “The Sunday Mass obligation makes perfect sense.” The woman more or less completely misunderstood my central point, which was not to say that we should attend Mass only out of some […]

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Rubble and Re-Creation

In the beginning, when God was creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was a desolate waste. Chaos. Smoking rubble. Like after a war. Our beginning, we Bible readers should understand, was post-apocalyptic. That’s what I tell the guys in jail, as a regular chaplain there, when someone pipes up now and then with […]

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The Blessed Virgin Mary: Biblical & Catholic Overview

I. INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS * 1. MOTHER OF GOD Mary is the true physical mother of Jesus Christ, Who is truly God; hence Mary is the Mother of God. The doctrine was defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431 in order to counter Nestorius, who thought that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ’s human […]

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Martin Luther Was Extraordinarily Devoted to Mary

Despite the radicalism of early Protestantism with regard to many ancient Catholic “distinctives,” such as the Communion of the Saints, Penance, Purgatory, Infused Justification, the Papacy, the priesthood, sacramental marriage, etc., it may surprise many to discover that Martin Luther was rather conservative in some of his doctrinal views, such as on baptismal regeneration, the […]

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Humanae Vitae: August 1968 & the “Progressive” Revolt

The following is a collection of lengthy excerpts from an article written by Cardinal James Francis Stafford, courtesy of Catholic News Agency, and published in California Catholic Daily (29 July 2008). It’s essential reading for all who want to understand a key event in the modernist crisis of the Church. Everything is here: the faddishness of the theologically […]

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Mary Mediatrix: St. John Paul II & Benedict XVI Clarify

Many Protestants (especially the tiny minority of anti-Catholics among Protestants) are under the false impression that the teaching of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mediatrix is somehow a new, novel thing, and that if these notions are proclaimed as the Fifth Marian Dogma, that the Catholic Church will turn a new page of ever-more outrageous […]

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Life Is Short; Art is Long

As part of our tourist rounds in Chicago my wife and I visited the Art Institute, which is far too large to take in in a single day. As happens every time I go to a large museum, by the time we walked out I was in a state of melancholy existential astonishment. One installation […]

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Mary Mediatrix & Jesus (Mere Vessels vs. Sources)

I answered an objection to my recent article on this topic at National Catholic Register: Of course, Jesus is our Savior, and the source of all the grace (as I made quite clear in my paper), which He then chooses to pass through Mary to us. No contradiction whatsoever. It only is for those accustomed […]

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Predestination Mysteries: Dialogue with an Atheist

This is a follow-up to “Predestination and Salvation: Q & A with an Atheist”. Words of atheist Grimlock will be in blue. ***** [replying to my answers to his #1 and #2 questions in the previous exchange] If I’ve understood it correctly, your position is something like this: God created everything, including free beings. God also […]

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Mary as the “Queen Mother” and “Queen of Heaven”

Is 1 Kings 2:17-25 a Fatal Counter-Example? (with Steve Ray) I received the following letter: We are Anglican, and looking very deeply into the Catholic church. There is one matter that troubles me which I hope you will be able to clarify for me. I ordered Knowing Mary Through the Bible, a DVD series by […]

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Predestination and Salvation: Q & A with an Atheist

Grimlock (a Norwegian) is a regular (and rather inquisitive and provocative) contributor on my blog. He was responding underneath my paper, “Do Catholics Believe in Predestination? Yes! But . . .” His words will be in blue. ***** Not finding this very intuitive to grasp, so I’ve got some questions to clarify. I tried to make […]

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Taking Our Chances with Choice

Contingency…subject to chance…uncertain…right down to the molecular level. — Christian Wiman It is one of the most confounding paradoxes of parenting: do we show our children, or do we tell them? From that question, of course, the nuance and degree of difficulty increase rapidly. When and how to show? When and how to tell? Watching […]

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Do Catholics Believe in Predestination? Yes! But . . .

This was a chapter, intended for, but not included in my book, The One-Minute Apologist (2007). ***** SALVATION Catholics don’t believe in predestination *** Catholics think that man’s free will is the final determinant of salvation *** Initial Reply * The Catholic Church believes in the predestination of the elect, or those who are saved; it only […]

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Modernism vs. History in Genesis & Biblical Inspiration

This all occurred when a man came onto one of my comboxes, chiming in about an existing discussion with an agnostic / deist, saying about himself, “I’d be OK with the label progressive or even liberal.” He has (by his own report) “a Ph.D. in philosophy from Catholic University, Washington, D.C.”, and is “a retired […]

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Welcome to Tel Aviv

Early on Friday morning, the first full day of my recent trip to Israel with Congregation Beth Ha Tephila, Asheville, NC, six of the forty-three participants gathered on a momentarily quiet Metzitzim Beach near the Tel Aviv port for twenty minutes of mindfulness practice. When we finished, we noted, just to the south of us, […]

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Dialogue w Agnostic/Deist on God’s Revelation & Character

VicQRuiz is a friendly “agnostic/deist” who commented on my 2001 exchange: The “Problem of Good”: Great Dialogue With an Atheist. I compiled those replies and my responses, and now will reply to further comments of his. His words (complete) will be in blue. My older words to which he is responding will be indented. ***** From your lengthy reply […]

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Biblical Annihilationism or Universalism? (w Atheist Ted Drange)

The following list of alleged biblical “contradictions” was put together by Dr. Ted Drange, philosophy professor, an atheist on an atheist-dominated Internet list devoted to God’s existence. Another person on the list (Nick) originally presented them (with some discrepancies from Ted’s version) and challenged me to provide a counter-reply. I was informed by yet another […]

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Civil Dialogue with an Advocate of Legal Abortion

This is a follow-up to my dialogue, “Pro-Abortion”: Reply to an Objection to its Use. My dialogue opponents’ words will be in blue. ***** In addressing your points —> (1-2) I also support legalizing cannabis across the board, & am supportive of legalizing euthanasia under certain conditions. That does not make me “pro-cannabis” or “pro-euthanasia”. I […]

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John Armstrong vs. Church Fathers Re Perpetual Virginity

This is an example that Reformed Protestant scholar Dr. Armstrong provides in support of his oft-expressed disdain for what he calls “popular apologetics.” In an article entitled “Roman Catholic Special Pleading,” he stated: I am also amazed at some of the Scripture twisting I hear from earnest and sincere Catholic apologists. . . . Like […]

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“Pro-Abortion”: Reply to an Objection to its Use

A person on my blog raised this objection, after I used the term “pro-abort” in one of my articles. Her words will be in blue. ***** No doubt it ingratiates you with very conservative readers, but unless you wish to alienate those of us who are more moderate or liberal, please try to refrain from […]

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Poetry Friday: “The Egg of Anything”

In examining her simple subject, Bohince expands the scope of an egg. The poem’s title, “The Egg of Anything” lets the egg become the root and symbol of large and small images: “sun and moon mixed,” or “little o / in hope or love.” Bohince’s descriptions radiate through her abstract comparisons and playful word choices […]

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Are All the Biblical Books Self-Evidently Canonical?

Even St. Paul’s books were disputed by at least two major early figures, or at least not introduced as “Scripture” per se. For example, we have no positive evidence that St. Justin Martyr (d. c. 165) regarded Philippians, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, or 1, 2, and 3 John. as biblical books. That’s eleven […]

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Catholic Synthesis of Development & “Believed Always by All”

A false assumption is often made by anti-Catholics and other critics of the Catholic Church, that when Catholics discuss how something has “always been believed,” that they are not also often referring to adherence to implicit or kernel-forms or the “acorns” or “seeds” of development of doctrine (i.e., they are referring to the essence of the doctrine, which was received from […]

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Development of the Biblical Canon: Protestant Difficulties

***** This is an abridged version of my portions of a lengthy dialogue (in two parts), originally with anti-Catholic apologist Jason Engwer. *** Can Protestant apologists make an argument that the concept of biblical books is biblical? Yes, they can. But can they make a rational biblical argument for numbering the New Testament books at […]

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I Hate Summer

For the past several days—until today, alas—we’ve been having a spell of entirely uncharacteristic weather in the Washington, D.C. area. The days have been in the 70s and the nights, pure bliss: in the high 60s, a temperature for open windows and a thick breeze that feels like it’s straight from the Atlantic, and I […]

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Dialogue w Agnostic/Deist on the “Problem of Good”

VicQRuiz is a friendly “agnostic/deist.” He was interested in making some comments on my 2001 exchange: The “Problem of Good”: Great Dialogue With an Atheist. I consider that old exchange the best dialogue I have ever been engaged in, out of what must be 900-1000 of ’em by now. His words (complete) will be in blue. […]

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The Sufficiency & Perspicuity of Scripture & the Trinity

Material sufficiency can be proven from Scripture, but Scripture Alone as a principle was not formally sufficient to prevent the Arian crisis from occurring. In other words, the decisive factor in these controversies was the appeal to apostolic succession and apostolic tradition, which showed that the Church had always been trinitarian. The Arians could not […]

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Early Development of the Papacy: Random Reflections

Why establish an office (Peter was, in effect, was made the prime minister of the Church by Jesus, as the exegesis of the “keys of the kingdom” establishes, with much Protestant exegetical support), only to have it cease with the death of Peter? That makes no sense. The very nature of an office is to […]

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Party in the USA

The day is hot and musty but everyone is celebrating. After all, everyone can enjoy a small town fireworks display, right? I used to think so. But in revelatory moments, the sheen of this small town—with its beautiful park and festivities—is pulled back to reveal what was always present. Life isn’t always so bright for […]

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St. Athanasius’ Rule of Faith (NOT Sola Scriptura)

Did St. Athanasius (c. 296-373) believe in sola Scriptura? Hardly. Let us look at some of his statements: ***** But, beyond these sayings, let us look at the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, the Apostles preached and the Fathers kept. (To Serapion 1:28) But after him and with […]

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Marian Apparitions & Public vs. Private Revelation

I wrote this on the Coming Home Network boards [where I moderated from 2007-2010] in response to someone saying that no one could comment on the reputed apparitions at Medjugorje unless they had been there themselves. * * * * * First of all, it’s wrong to say that no one can comment on a […]

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The Perspicuity (Clearness) of Scripture: A Summary

The Catholic position on the perspicuity (clearness or clarity) of Scripture, briefly stated, is the following: 1) Scripture, is, by and large, clear, in its treatment of theological doctrines. The truth can be obtained by proper study. I’ve done this myself, many times, in Scripture study on various topics, and my experience has always been […]

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Classic Reflections on Tradition, Sola Scriptura, & the Canon

I. Tradition: Catholic Commentary Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Tradition first means all of divine revelation, from the dawn of human history to the end of the apostolic age, as passed on from one generation of believers to the next, and as preserved under divine guidance by the Church established by Christ. Sacred Tradition […]

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Fast Food Funeral Procession

The line lurched forward one vehicle at a time, halogen halos radiating from headlights. Although it was eleven o’clock at night, I could not help but think of the funeral processions I saw as a boy, cars coursing through town in the daytime with lights aglow. As I sat in the drive-thru lane at Taco […]

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Dialogue with a Skeptic of Christianity

Charlie Kluepfel is a former Catholic, who still believes in God in a somewhat unorthodox, self-described “theistic” fashion. He is, however, quite skeptical of Christianity. I discovered his writing and website [now defunct] while doing a word search on the book Surprised by Truth (ed. Patrick Madrid, San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994): a collection of conversion stories […]

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Catholics R More Biblical Than Protestants? (Dialogue)

This is always a fun Catholic-Protestant discussion to have (i.e., if tempers are moderated and ecumenical unity isn’t forgotten!). The words of Dustin Buck Lattimore (Protestant) will be in blue. ***** I’ve called this “the Protestant quest for uncertainty.” Protestants manage to be uncertain about (and to actually glory in being uncertain about) any number […]

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“Biblical Evidence” from the Catholic Point of View

My methodology is not all that different from the Protestant approach, with regard to how biblical texts are used to support one’s position. As I keep pointing out, anyone who does systematic theology at all, does this. If you read Vatican II or papal encyclicals you’ll see Catholics citing many Scriptures in passing (in parentheses) […]

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Be Still My Anxious Heart

Anxiety comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be a creeping whisper or an overwhelming feeling. No matter how it presents itself, the feeling of anxiety can be intrusive and disruptive to our daily lives. So how do we calm our anxious hearts? Theology of the Body reminds us that anxiety is not God’s […]

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Pennies from Heaven

I’ve never really been into crosses.  Like fire hydrants or Starbucks, there are so many, I don’t even see them. Sermons or songs that ask me to meditate on the cross might as well ask me to meditate on the church snack table because that’s where my mind wanders as I wait for the cross, […]

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Poetry Friday: “Some Small Bone”

One of a writer’s greatest challenges is to create a short piece that is in no other way “small.”  In 14 brief lines, Hailey Leithauser has succeeded in writing a poem that is simultaneously compact and expansive.   Prefacing it with Robert Bly’s line, “Some small bone in your foot is longing for heaven,” Leithauser’s […]

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Inspired by Rachel Held Evans’s Inspired

Fridays used to be pizza and a movie nights, growing up. My dad would bring home a ridiculously greasy pizza from a little place in the next town over called Pizza Stop. It was on one of these nights, as I recall, that we watched DeMille’s Ten Commandments. As good churchgoing Christians, we knew the […]

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YOU Can Make A Difference. We Can Help

The Holy Apostles College online Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies degree will give you the tools you need to bring God’s grace to a hurting world. Have you ever felt the desire to…    –live a more meaningful life?      –make a difference?    –let God lead you in exciting new directions? If so, […]

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Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 9, Psalms, In the End

Thinking of the psalms as a way to cycle through the entire range of human experience, I recently brought them with me into juvenile detention. The kids there, on Sunday afternoons, shuffle through automated doors wearing orange jumpsuits and pink booties and take their seats shyly around bolted-down steel tables with me. These are boys […]

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Leaving My Denomination

The first time my wife and I worshipped in an Episcopal church, we were members in The United Methodist Church, the denomination that baptized, confirmed, and eventually called me to ministry. On any given Sunday across the globe, you can find a United Methodist congregation worshipping. And at least in the North American churches, there […]

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Our son Eric was four years old. My husband George, after teaching all day at Tufts University, would walk over to Tufts Day Care Center, pick Eric up, and walk home with him, Eric riding in the carrier on George’s back. As soon as they’d get in the house, they’d both plop down in front […]

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Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 8: Psalms In the Beginning

I always privately hated the psalms. Most of them, anyway. As a teenager, I’d leaf through the Bible’s songbook quite often and feel it was full of self-pity and self-righteousness, often launching into bombastic praise of God and two lines later wishing curses on enemies. I didn’t understand why Christians still used the psalms, and […]

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Poetry Friday: “Pray That the Creek Don’t Dry Up”

Here is a poem about making a poem. The first stanza, a single sentence, stretches out through cosmic imagery: “light sift[ing] down,” “erasable darkness seep[ing] up,” “the crack to the radiant world closing in on itself.” The diction here is high, poetic. Then suddenly the next stanza plunks us down to earth with “One way […]

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Dialogue w Agnostic on Elijah and John the Baptist

***** Agnostic “paul” over at the Debunking Christianity blog has written a piece entitled, “A few questions about Elijah” [link no longer active]. This is my reply. His words will be in blue. Any past words of mine cited will be green, and his past words in purple. *** I was thinking about Elijah the other day, and came up with […]

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Dialogue w Atheist on Jesus, Demons, Pigs, & Animal Rights

The words of Jim Scott and Jim Dailey (fellow Catholics) will be in blue and green, respectively. Words of atheist “Grimlock” will be in purple. See the entire original exchange (that got into some other topics as well). I may edit and rearrange a bit for the sake of levity and back-and-forth “dialogical flow”. ***** […]

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Atheist Botched Biblical Exegesis: Example #4,974

Atheist “BeeryUSA”: My story is pretty simple. I escaped from Christianity when I read the Bible, cover to cover, and realized it was all a load of complete nonsense. And I actually got pretty far through it before it hit me (partly because I was already at the point where I had realized the Old […]

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Death of Judas: Alleged Bible Contradictions Debunked

Dave Van Allen runs the large website ExChristian.Net [or at least he did in September 2007, when this was written]. His words will be in blue. Dr. Jim Arvo’s words will be in green. * * * * * One of the biggest contradictions I could not rectify was whether or not Judas threw his money into the […]

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Sonnets in the Prime of My Life

The sonnet, of course, is the gold standard of form, the first one most people identify. That’s why I decided to wait several months before working on sonnets during my Year of Forms. There’s just so much pressure surrounding The One. I mean, come on: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is […]

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Musical Instruments in Worship: Biblical Evidence

John Calvin’s extreme position that music in worship is rank idolatry is wrong in light of the following biblical data. * * * * * With regard to musical instruments in a context of worshiping God, we have the model of David and others of his time worshiping God with harps, tambourines, etc.: Psalm 33:2 (RSV) […]

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Anti-Catholics & Alleged Catholic Idol-Worship at Mass

[words of anti-Catholics “Turretinfan” will be in blue; Ken Temple’s in green; Ron DiGiacomo’s in purple] Turretinfan recently wrote: Men love idols. We can see this throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. . . . The Israelites are repeatedly warned against the dangers of idolatry . . . The New Testament likewise describes the pagan fondness for […]

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The Sacrifice of the Mass: Classic Catholic Reflections

[Excerpts from the original 750-page 1994 version of my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism] ***** 1. Alan Schreck The Catholic Church has never taught that in the Mass Jesus is “resacrificed” or offered up to suffer again. The Catholic Mass is called a sacrifice because it “re-presents,” “e-enacts,” or presents once again before us, […]

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The Eucharist, Incarnation, and Reason: Reflections

[Material compiled for the early (750 page!) draft (1994) of my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism] ***** I. THE EUCHARIST AS AN EXTENSION OF THE INCARNATION 1. Thomas Howard Sacrament, recalling and presenting the Incarnation itself, is not so much supernatural as quintessentially natural, because it restores to nature its true function of being […]

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Living in a Border State

I spent elementary school in a Mexican neighborhood in Austin, Texas. I attended birthday parties with piñatas and ate in a school cafeteria that served home-style enchiladas, tamales, and beans made with lard. And because of my dark hair I truly didn’t realize a difference between the other students and me until fourth grade, when […]

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