It makes us think of someone who is strict, stern, and so excessively and pointlessly austere that he is unable to appreciate the delights of creation. But asceticism did once have a positive meaning ...

The reference is primarily to the prophets of the Old Testament, including such giants as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and Hosea. In the Old Testament a prophet is not primarily one who predicts ...

John Henry Newman by Sir John Everett Millais, Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Lately, I’ve had occasion to read two books by Saint John Henry Newman. Let’s start with Loss and Gain.

A proper etiquette does exist for how we address our Church leaders. As a point of courtesy, all Catholics should be familiar with these forms of address. Even though we may live in an increasingly ...

On July 20, 1933, six months after Hitler rose to power, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, and the German vice chancellor, Franz von Papen, signed a concordat — a sort of peace ...

The public intellectual sees the story as a warning about idolizing the intellect (rationalism) and pursuing heaven on earth (utopia). Coming after Noah and the Flood, the story of the Tower of Babel ...

Catholic World Report Editor’s note: The Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based public policy research center, has just published a groundbreaking study, A Vision of Hope: Catholic Schooling in ...

But the Church remembers him in the canon of saints as a scholar and translator of the Bible who exemplified a holiness of life worthy of emulation. Widely known as one of the greatest of the Latin ...

Children all over the world begin viewing hard-core Internet pornography long before their parents even consider discussing its dangers. Sean Covey, son of the famous Stephen Covey, has written a ...

Servant of God Romano Guardini (1885–1968), Italian-born German Catholic priest, author, and academic, authored The Lord, a spiritual classic. He is considered one of the most important figures in ...

Our fascination with miracles is inextricably tied up with our fear of death. Miracles give us hope for preservation from suffering and, ultimately, an escape from death. They not only give us hope ...

Suppose the great edifice of Western civilization had collapsed around you — all its truths, all its certainties, all its aspirations smashed to meaningless shards. Suppose . . . oh, I don’t know, ...