“Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, ‘Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?’” (Mt 13:54-55) Today, on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, we contemplate the dignity of work. The person...
[Updated] Marissa Greene of Fort Worth Report has reported that the Arlington Carmelites have withdrawn their request for a restraining order against Bishop Michael Olson and officials from the group of monasteries to which they belong, the Association of Christ the King: Following the sudden cancellation of an April 30 court hearing between...
I actually meant to write this post a week or so ago, but with so many things going on, I’m only posting this now. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m attempting to ease myself out of the apologetics sphere a bit and try to look ahead, in part because there are plenty of good...
A reflection on the readings for April 28, 2024 — The Fifth Sunday of Easter In 21st-century American Christianity, there appears to be a strong desire to separate belief in Christ from membership in the Church. This is backed up by strong anecdotal evidence, the proliferation of Christian movements who resist the “church”...
[The use of nuclear energy] has become a reality and had its application in the construction of the “atomic bomb” or “bomb of nuclear energy”: the most terrible weapon that the human mind has, to this date, devised. Im this conjuncture, we cannot refrain from expressing a thought that constantly grieves our soul,...
The very notion of the development of Catholic doctrine is of course very much in discussion today and will be for a long while yet, but it seems to me that the concept itself is a bit messier than is typically depicted. To illustrate what the development of doctrine looks like, analogies from...
I have spent much of the past week following the latest developments in the ongoing drama between the embattled Carmelite nuns of Arlington, Texas, and Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth. I also took some time to look back at the beginning of the conflict, seeking a better understanding of what led to...
[Update May 7, 2024] The document will be released on May 17, 2024. The Vatican Press Office has issued the following notice: Press Conference of 17 May On Friday 17 May 2024, at 12.00, a press conference will be held in the Holy See Press Office, Sala San Pio X, Via dell’Ospedale 1, to present the...
As a Discalced Carmelite, I belong to a community dedicated totally to contemplation. That means that we have no outside ministry. We do not teach or nurse except to care for the members of our own community. We do not do parish work or run a migrant hostel or an orphanage or provide...
On April 8th, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released a new document about the infinite dignity of the human person, Dignitas Infinita. More specifically, Dignitas Infinita is a Declaration (the same kind of document as Fiducia Supplicans) that was approved and signed by the pope and thus part of the ordinary magisterium of the...
A reflection on the readings for April 21, 2024 — The Fourth Sunday of Easter (also Good Shepherd Sunday and the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations) My wife and I recently traveled out of state for a visit with family organized around celebrating our nephew’s Confirmation. I had been asked to be his...
Regarding the ongoing standoff between Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth and the Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas, which I reported on yesterday, it did not take long for the cloistered Carmelite community to respond to the documents from the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL). And...
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