The Catholic Thing

By Randall Smith But first a note from Robert Royal: The Christian story is unbelievable to many people today. But as Professor Smith argues below, it makes perfect, literally unavoidable sense. One reason TCT exists is to explain the faith in terms that bring the great mysteries home to us. We're getting near the end of our fundraising campaign and still have several thousand dollars to go to mee...

By Msgr. Jason Gray Catholics around the world are commemorating Corpus Christi today, a feast day celebrating the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. But Corpus Christi is especially significant for American Catholics this year. The Catholic Church has seen "historic" rates of converts at parishes nationwide, while Americans' belief in the Real Presence and reverence for the Eucharist is ste...

By Daniel B. Gallagher But first a note from Robert Royal: I generally don't ask our authors to write on a specific topic because, like you, I'm interested in seeing how the Spirit is moving out there, not just in my own head. But I'm always interested when the Spirit speaks of Dante, whom I discovered all on my own as an undergraduate, and has been with me in ways beyond reckoning ever since. TCT...

By Robert Royal But first a note from Brad Miner: Dear Friends, Dr. Royal has asked me to write to you about why giving to The Catholic Thing is so important. This site, which we know you admire, has been up and running since 2008. Indeed, Tuesday marked our 18th anniversary. Our growth has been steady and remarkable: from scores of daily visits to the site in year one to many thousands today. Las...

By Michael Pakaluk Catholics who sometimes worry that the Church is no longer sufficiently bold in its preaching of the Gospel might at least derive some comfort from its buildings. Sacred buildings stand a long time and carry on the convictions of those bolder folks who came before us – unless they are burned down or, in an interesting case, blocked. Two examples come to mind. The first is St. Pa...

By Francis X. Maier But first a note from Robert Royal: The editor of The Catholic Thing has many surprises, almost daily. But how about this from today's author: Bob, just in case you'd like to offer those first two grafs in High Elvish (Quenya) for your Middle-earth readers, here you go. No need to thank me: Sín, órelyen loqui neldëa quillië, ar avanyárë enquë-epenquë loilli lúteva vanyë ar hand...

By Brad Miner But first a note from Robert Royal: Today Brad Miner puts his finger on a worrisome development in the current carnival of sexuality. "Minor Attracted persons" may be going away as yet another step toward perdition, but only because we, along with many others, have kept the pressure on across a wide spectrum of cultural issues in many places. It's a slow and challenging battle, but i...

By Alden Abbott But first a note from Robert Royal: So, we're back at our fundraising – and need to be. We're well into the campaign but need to pick up the pace. I know this isn't a great economy at the moment, but we have to ask you to pray and dig deep. It's a good deal. I'm told the reward for generosity will be even greater in Heaven. Now for today's column. Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnific...

By Fr. Raymond J. de Souza A Good Friday death – even for a Catholic giant of the last fifty years – meant that less attention was paid than deserved. On the other hand, it was fitting for the author of Patì sotto Ponzio Pilato? – Did He Suffer under Pontius Pilate? Vittorio Messori, a few days shy of his 85th birthday, died on Good Friday evening last month, drawing to a close one of the most imp...

By Kristen Ziccarelli But first a note from Robert Royal: We've reached the end of another week in our mid-year funding campaign and we're about two-thirds of the way to our goal. We can't slack off now. What we do in these days makes a difference between TCT continuing and – well – let's not think about that. Don't make me beg, please. We need your help, today, to make the coming days all they ca...

By Joseph R. Wood But first a note from Robert Royal: As Professor Wood lucidly explains today, the choice of path - between a desire for comfort and doing what's right - is not new. And in several ways the stakes are even clearer now. Which reminds me that we're well into our finding campaign now. And I need to urge more of you to choose what's right and support our work. There are no guarantees...

By Stephen P. White But first a note from Robert Royal: We're moving along nicely with our mid-year fundraising and we're grateful to all who have already donated. But we still have a way to go, and the time grows short. Please help me to stop annoying you daily. Make your contribution and let's get this done for the sake of The Catholic Thing. Now for today's column... Pope Leo the XIV's first en...

By Matthew Walz But first a note from Robert Royal: Professor Walz reminds us today of a fundamental truth: that underneath all the challenges we face, it all comes down to trusting the One who deserves our trust. This evening, we'll be starting a short course on the Augustinianism of Pope Leo, which will look at some additional home truths that our world ignores at its peril. Please join us by en...

By Randall Smith But first a note from Robert Royal: Pope Leo has issued the first encyclical of his pontificate, Magna humanitas, and we'll be bringing you some carefully considered reflections on it in the days to come. In the meantime, the Prayerful Posse did a quick read and taping on some of the main points, good and neuralgic, for further discussion. To access the discussion, click here. And...

By Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen But first a note from Robert Royal: A happy Memorial Day to all our readers. As we remember the heroes fallen in war, let us all recommit ourselves to the battles that must be fought in our own day – both on real battlefields and in daily life – against the many current threats to human life, liberty, and Godliness. Now for today's column... The great French...

By Fr. Paul D. Scalia Philip Neri had the custom of rising late at night or in the first hours of morning, making his way through the sleeping city of Rome, outside the city walls, to the Basilica of Saint Sebastian. There he would descend beneath the church, to the ancient catacombs, where the first Christians of Rome met for Mass, where so many martyrs slept. In that sacred place he would spend...

By Anthony Esolen But first a note from Robert Royal: Reports out of New York say that the state's Department of Health has issued warnings to the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, whose order has, for over a century, run a hospice for patients dying of incurable cancer. Indeed, the village where their hospice is located was renamed Hawthorne in their honor. The state, however, without giving it muc...

By John M. Grondelski But first a note from Robert Royal: Probably the deepest challenge of our time, as our columnist demonstrates today, is the defense of the human person, as we've always understood persons in the Christian tradition. AI is the most evident coming challenge (next week we'll bring you commentary on Pope Leo's first encyclical that's on this whole subject). But there are also man...

By Michael Pakaluk But first a note from Robert Royal: As Professor Pakaluk explains today, there's all the difference in the world between mere 'flourishing,' and bearing fruit. At TCT, we constantly strive to do the latter. If you agree with that goal, please help. You know the drill. There's TCT, there's the button, there's you. Support TCT. Today Now for today's column... The only time Our Lor...

By Brad Miner But first a note from Robert Royal: So count me impressed with the generosity of our readers these first days of our midyear funding drive. But just between ourselves, I'd like to be even more impressed. And sooner rather than later. At TCT, we work hard to pick through some of the complicated issues we face these days (even in popular culture, as our esteemed Brad Miner does today)....

By Francis X. Maier But first a note from Robert Royal: We've gotten off to a good start in our mid-year fund drive, and I'm grateful to everyone who responded so generously. I was also pleased to find some encouraging messages from readers. To cite just a few: "The Catholic Thing is my favorite way to get my mind going in the morning, the essays certainly are thought-provoking and they're much ne...

By Robert Royal St. Augustine famously wrote of having come late to the Beauty that is God: tam antiqua, tam nova ("So ancient, so new"). It's a brilliant and profound way of expressing the truth that the deepest Good is not in the past or in the future, but by its very eternity transcends time. It's like a heart-rending piece of music that, even the very the first time you hear it, is both fresh...

By Fr. Benedict Kiely St. John Henry Newman discovered, after much study, prayer. and pain, that the Anglo-Catholic, or Tractarian, concept of the Anglican Church as a via media between Catholicism and Protestantism, was ultimately a house built on sand, without foundation. There is still a small minority within that communion that advances the thesis. But with both female clergy, and now a woman...

By Brad Miner By first a note from Robert Royal: There's just over a week until I begin my brief course on Pope Leo and the Augustinian tradition. Don't miss this chance to learn more about our American pope, the religious tradition he was formed by, and the ways in which he seems to follow or depart from the legacy of perhaps the greatest thinker in the early Church, St. Augustine of Hippo. You c...

By David Warren Edgar Allan Poe mentioned three things, in connection with the Earthly Paradise, or perhaps there were four; I don't pretend to be a Poe expert. But so far as I remember, they were: life in the open air, the love of a good woman, and the creation of some original form of beauty. These struck me at the time (I was a teenager, and not yet consciously a Christian) as a useful list, so...