How is the Church governed?

A question that keeps coming up for me regarding the synod on synodality is, “What do you mean by X?” X could be lay participation; women’s decision-making; hierarchical ministry; governance;… Read More

Marriage and Divorce

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you,… Read More

The Inevitable Inequality of Bodies

I went to see the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III last month. The actor playing Richard in this production has radial dysplasia, which added a certain amount of… Read More

The Eucharistic Revival and the Art of Gathering: Part 2

This is the second part of my little series on the National Eucharistic Revival and Priya Parker’s book, The Art of Gathering. Last time, I applied Parker’s first three points… Read More

The National Eucharistic Revival and The Art of Gathering

I recently hosted a party that was much more elaborate than any I had hosted before. It was at a beautifully-refurbished parish hall and featured English Country Dancing, led by… Read More

Nighttime Boundaries

HIM: “You’re saying that I can’t come stay in your dorm room overnight, even though we won’t do anything and your roommate would be there anyway?” ME: “Yes, that’s exactly… Read More

Media vita in morte sumus

The last few weeks have brought many tragedies to the lives of people invested in the pro-life cause. Vicki Thorn, the founder of Project Rachel, died suddenly on April 20.… Read More

What Can We Call It?

“What is an experience that you have had at Catholic University that exemplifies for you what it means to be Catholic?”  This was the penultimate question of Catholic U’s synod… Read More

Healing by the Divine Physician

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.” (Mt 9: 12-13). No one wants to suffer for its own sake. Pain and suffering are things… Read More

Stopping the Line: Lessons from Toyota for Implementing Vos Estis

GM, Toyota, and NUMMI In the early 1980’s, cars coming out of a GM plant in Fremont, California were falling apart. They often needed to be fixed before they were… Read More

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Church Workers

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s All Small Stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life by Richard Carlson became a classic of the… Read More

Sufjan Stevens, C.S. Lewis, and the Synod

I went to a Sufjan Stevens concert in Philadelphia about ten years ago. It was his tour for The Age of Adz but he played some of his older stuff… Read More