Saint John Neumann, the Bishop Who Kept on Going
Today is the feast of Saint John Neumann - whom we should keep distinct from Saint John Henry Newman, the English Oratorian and fellow...
Theotokos, or Christotokos? A Christmas Heresy Begets a Christian Truth
Was Christ was a human person? That may seem an odd question, to which most of us might reply, of course He was! (or...
A Happy Marian New Year!
The Church begins each new calendar year with a Marian feast, celebrating the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, Theotokos – literally the...
Mother of God, New Year’s Eve, the Te Deum and Auld Lang Syne
A very blessed Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - of which more, anon - as well as New Year's Eve, the latter much...
Saint John’s Eagle-Eyed View
Today is the feast of Saint John the Evangelist, also called the ‘Beloved’, as the one closest to the heart of Our Lord, likely...
Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile
I just finished reading Joseph Pearce’s biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, subtitled ‘A Soul in Exile’, a remarkable book, packing a very full life into...
John of Damascus, Defender of Icons and the Last of the Eastern Fathers
Was there ever a golden age of Catholic and Islamic relations? The evidence for such is slim, with the two religions seemingly incompatible and...
The DSM, Psychiatry, and Big Pharma
The DSM - the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - is the textbook, one might even call it the bible, of psychiatry and psychology. After...
Faith, Reason and Formal Objects
In 1998, 25 years ago, Pope Saint John Paul II published his encyclical, Fides et Ratio, on the relationship between faith and reason, the...
Saint Caecilia’s Heavenly Music
We have yet to hear what heavenly music sounds like, but Saint Francis de Sales once recounted that he was blessed to hear an...