The Narthex

November 11 is Veterans Day -- about five weeks from now. On that day we honor those who have served, and especially those who have died, for their country. How do we honor those veterans? The typical American approach is to give speeches, pay tributes, and eventually to lay a…

So often does Pope Francis speak of mercy that some wonder whether mercy has become an unconditional and universal absolution. It is not. Definitely not. Whatever his limits might be, Francis’s words about abortionists and arms merchants are anything but exculpatory. Indeed, St. John Paul II’s encyclical on mercy, Dives…

The recent Gospel about what two sons did with their father’s call to work in his vineyard seems fitting for the week we begin a “synod about synodality.” The Gospel is ultimately about sin and repentance. Both sons sin. One sins by refusing to work in the vineyard, although he…

The words disinformation and misinformation have been around for many years but have recently risen to prominence as the Australian parliament debates a bill which would ban false or misleading information in the media. The two terms are not interchangeable. The proposed law defines misinformation as “online content that is…

October 2 is the Memorial of the Guardian Angels. Once a year, the Church reminds us of an important tradition that points to God’s Providential care: that each human person receives a guardian angel to accompany him in life. Your path to heaven is not solitary; you are accompanied by…

I’m blessed to have the Rev. Paul Scalia as a pastor, in part because he inspires me with lines of theological thought I hadn’t considered. He did that last Sunday, with his reflections on the Gospel of the Vineyard Owner who pays all his workers a day’s wage. Fr. Scalia…

Last week Ukrainian President Zelensky visited the U.S. and Canada seeking more money and weapons. As reported by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos at Responsible Statecraft (Sept. 22), the Biden administration agreed to give Ukraine long-range missiles in the “upcoming weeks.” The warheads in question, called ATACMs, were previously considered to be…

In a surprise development, nominal Catholic California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed legislation that instructed California courts to take a parent’s “gender affirming” views into account when making custody or visitation decisions. No one should think, however, that the Governor has concluded that the chemical castration and/or physical genital mutilation…

Last Sunday’s readings focused on the corrosive effect of unjust anger and its ability to choke off -- as in the case of the wicked servant’s debtor, literally -- mercy. There is, of course, the danger of thinking that all anger is always bad. That’s not true. Anger is an…

“Philosophy begins in wonder.” So says Aristotle in his Metaphysics. Reflecting on this text, St. Thomas teaches that a goal of metaphysics is to establish the truth about the first and universal causes of things. If we achieve this goal, he writes, “there should be no wonder because the causes…

I’ve explained in the past that I keep a subscription to The New York Times primarily because it is a source par excellence for the insane musings of the Left. But even I could not believe the number of such inanities the Old Gray Lady managed to publish in just…

I sometimes wonder if the problem with liberals is that they have extraordinarily guilty consciences but lack a confessional to unburden themselves in. Well, that is not wholly true; they have the op-ed pages of liberal newspapers, which alternate among confessional, psychotherapy couch, and street corner (where one signals one's…

Last Sunday’s Gospel focused on fraternal correction and the steps required for the gradual acceleration of a process to correct an errant brother. From informal conversation to discussion in front of witnesses to Church adjudication to excommunication, fraternal correction makes clear that the integrity of ecclesial teaching trumps “welcome” and,…

Critics sometimes argue that among the deficiencies of contemporary homiletics there is a prominent lack of moral content and instruction. That should not have been the case with last Sunday’s Gospel and readings. I will spell out why. Last Sunday’s Gospel can be misread if it is reduced to a…

I’ve been writing a lot about the upcoming Synod on Synodality and the obsession of some prelates with the Church’s “welcoming” attitude. The gist of my argument is that these folks are pushing a notion of “welcome” that is alien to Scripture and the Church’s Tradition, though it may resonate…