Slow of Heart
What is interesting about the discussion on the road to Emmaus is that the two disciples are talking about Jesus, while the very person they are talking about is right there walking with them, but without their awareness that this...
Tagged: Eucharist
Is God Really on our Side?
Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. -Pope Leo XIV, April 16, 2026 In Athens, Georgia earlier...
The Case for Standing to Receive Communion
Many sincere Catholics associate kneeling with greater reverence and standing with something less. It’s an understandable instinct. But when we look at how the Church herself has understood these gestures across history, a clearer picture emerges. The question is not...
Carlo Acutis: The Eucharist Celebrated, Adored — and Lived!
In the lives of the saints, we always discover luminous paths that can inspire Christians today, especially the young. Carlo Acutis, the Milanese teenager who died in 2006 at the age of fifteen, has already become a beacon for this...
On the Violence in Minneapolis
Early yesterday morning, a note came into my Substack home page expressing utter scandal that Pope Leo said that before we are believers, we are human. I let it pass. It’s not mine to put out every fire — and...
New Martyrs in Africa
A very brief post, but all the more significant for that: Last night in Komanda in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an all-night Eucharistic liturgy was interrupted by men armed with guns and machetes, believed to have been members...
Loaves, Fishes and the Living Bread
Chris Jackson at the Substack Hiraeth in Exile has generated some controversy recently with a number of hot takes on Pope Leo; I’m focusing here on one in particular, because it epitomizes a way of understanding the Church and the world. I’ve noticed...
Acts of War, Cries for Peace: The President, the Pope, & the Eucharist
This past evening, the United States military bombed Iran. The President of the United States declared the mission a “spectacular military success,” “an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades,” and maintained that “Iran’s key...
Descending to the Lowest Place
Reflection on Holy Thursday What is so important about Holy Thursday night is the explicit connection between the institution of the Eucharist and a life of service, that is, the link between the sacrament and works of mercy, works of...
Stuck in a Loop with Brugger and Ryan on Amoris Laetitia
On April 2, Dr. Christian Brugger and Fr. Peter Ryan responded to my article on Amoris Laetitia, which itself was a reply to another article they wrote in Catholic World Report. I must say that I truly appreciate their engagement. That said,...
The caring gaze
On September 19, 1870, troops of the new Kingdom of Italy surrounded the city of Rome, which at the time was ruled by Blessed Pius IX, styled by his loyal people Il Papa Re, the Pope-King. Pius had refused entry...
The Testament of Pope Francis
The preaching of St. Peter Julian Eymard on the Institution of the Eucharist has deeply left its mark on me. I have returned to one particular homily many, many times through the years, even copying it out in my own...
Popular Posts