Following in the footsteps of many other media outlets (including America, where my article on the division caused by papal critics was the most read in the month of August), we present to you a year-end roundup of our top stories of 2020. The articles listed below were the most widely-read of the...
In recent months we’ve heard dramatic warnings from figures in Catholic media regarding an alleged plan for post-COVID global change called “the Great Reset.” Some of these warnings are based upon reasonable concerns, while others are examples of outright conspiracy-mongering. C.C. Pecknold, without getting into conspiracy-theory territory, argues in First Things that the...
Editor’s note (December 30): Sadly, the Senate of Argentina voted 38-29 earlier today to legalize abortion on demand in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Please pray for the people of Argentina and for our society. May we experience a conversion of heart so that our culture learns to recognize and respect the value...
Each year at Christmas, I have a difficult time reconciling the hard realities that must have surrounded Jesus’ birth and how it has been romanticized over the centuries. The Annunciation, the Visitation, Joseph’s dilemma, Quirinius’s census, Mary and Joseph’s travel to Jerusalem just before childbirth, the birth of Jesus in a stable, Jesus...
“Driven by religious reasons, the Church has always condemned the various systems of marxist socialism, and still condemns them today as it is its duty and permanent right to preserve men from currents of thought and influences that endanger their eternal salvation. But the Church cannot ignore or pretend not to see that...
Early in Advent, a line of Scripture struck me strongly and has stuck with me ever since: “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert’” (Jn 1:23). This Advent brought more revelations about the abuse scandals in the Church, exposed more injustice and racism in our country, and shed light...
I want to begin my Christmas 2020 reflection with the first four stanzas of the poem Esperanza by Alexis Valdés, a Cuban-American poet based in Miami, Florida. When the storm passes and the roads are tamed, and we are the survivors of a collective shipwreck. With a weeping heart and a blessed destiny...
O man, do you not realize by what means Christ pursues you in order to call you back? Saint Peter Chrysologus wrote this in the 5th century as a part of a reflection on the Nativity. These words remind me of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, where Jesus says that God is...
As the world witnesses the long-awaited rollout of new, promising COVID-19 vaccines, most of us are thankful and rejoicing that we are one step closer to the end of this pandemic. Managing this rollout will be an enormous challenge, and we still face many questions about access and priority. It is possible that...
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended our society in nearly every way imaginable. Many people are out of work and unable to feed their families. Others have been evicted from their homes. Some lay in ICU beds, gasping for air or on a ventilator, as hardworking doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers try everything...
Once again, Pope Francis delivered his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia. In the first several years of his papacy, particularly in response to his 2014, 2017, and 2018 addresses, the media widely interpreted the annual speech as a “scathing critique” or “a litany of condemnations,” and whether you thought the curial...
This is a reflection on the Mass readings of Sunday, December 20, 2020. Today’s readings present us with two stories. The first is the story of David, the second King of Israel. Through his extraordinary efforts, David had finally brought stability to the kingdom of Israel. The kingdom was secure enough for David...
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