Discipleship Isn't as Exciting as Youth Ministry Makes It Seem
Timothy O'Malley, Director ND Center for Liturgy, analyzes how youth ministry programs can avoid the inevitable burnout caused by current emotive models.
Articles » Catechesis
The Roman Church as Casta Meretrix
Gary A. Anderson, ND Hesburgh Professor of Theology, discusses the applicability of a certain biblical metaphor and its reception history to the abuse crisis.
Salvation: More Than a Cliché?
Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Emeritus and theologian, asks whether in our times the word "salvation" has been emptied out of all meaning.
What Did Pope Francis Mean to Say with His Strange Abuse Crisis Letter?
Jonathan Heaps, theologian and recent convert to Catholicism, struggles to understand what Pope Francis is trying to say in his letter on the abuse crisis.
Modernity's Marginalization of Philosophy Makes the Practice of Everyday Life Unintelligible
Caleb Bernacchio, PhD candidate at IESE Business School, looks to Alasdair MacIntyre to ask existential questions about asking philosophical questions.
Are Our Children Seeing Jesus?
Brad Klingele, eighth grade teacher, writes about teaching children (and ourselves) to see Our Lord and Savior who is doubly-hidden in modern societies.
The Strange Myths of the New Evangelization
Mark Giszczak, Augustine Institute Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture, uses hard data to unmask the myth of Catholic decline in the United States.
The Importance of Geographic Stability for the Church
Gwendolen Adams, PhD (Catholic Studies, Maryvale Institute) draws on Alsadair MacIntyre and sociological data to argue for stability's evangelizing value.
Where Does the Ministry End and the Apostolate Begin?
Peter Andrastek, Senior Consultant for The Evangelical Catholic, clarifies how and why the ministry and the apostolate should work together instead of competing.Good Friday: Creation Always Exists in Darkness
Domenic Canonico, MTS student at the University of Notre Dame, contemplates the Trinity through William Congdon's depiction of Good Friday's sublime suffering.Death Clarifies What We Love
Gregory Floyd, who teaches in the Core Program at Seton Hall, considers a kind of theology that is not written in words, but written in lives.
This Is What You Get When Politics Invades Our Ecclesial Lives
Robert Christian, Editor of Millennial Journal and PhD candidate in politics at CUA, identifies how and why political sectarianism misses the common good.
Can Catholicism Still Draw from Ecumenism's Wells?
Kimberly Belcher, Notre Dame Assistant Professor of Theology, suggests how ecumenism can make Catholics both more Catholic and catholic.
Epiphany: It's Foolish to Pretend It's Easy to Remember the Poor
John Michael Hogue, ND theology major and Church Life Intern at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, on the Epiphany and the difficulty of gift-giving.
Am I the Mother of Christ?
John Cavadini tries to imagine what Isaac of Stella means by giving birth to Christ.
The Last Judgment Is the Reason for the Advent Season
Fr. Peter Nguyen reminds us Christmas celebrates the First Coming of Christ and Advent the Second Coming.
The Options for Identity-Discernment in a Secular Age
Robert Aaron Wessman, Roman Catholic priest and member of the Glenmary Home Missioners, takes an honest look at how to speak to Millennials, not at them.
Humor in the Bible
Charles Kestermeier, SJ, professor in Creighton University's English department, highlights the humorous passages in the Old and New Testaments.
Belief in the Communion of Saints Isn't Optional
Leonard J. DeLorenzo, director of Notre Dame Vision, lays out why there is no doubt the communio sanctorum is central to a fully orthodox Catholic faith.
Ancient Israel's Law of Defending the Weak
Anthony Pagliarini of Notre Dame's theology department argues the Law requires of Israel an extension of what God himself has done for her.
Beauty Already Has Saved the World
St. Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians with an exhortation: Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and...Don’t Panic About Nones Who Stop Believing
Sooner or later—probably sooner rather than later these days—children stop believing in Santa Claus. My younger brother was an exception to this rule, although to be fair there were a lot more cultural supports for Santa Clau...
"Come, Holy Spirit": The Vulnerable Bravery of Fr. Hesburgh's Favorite Prayer
The late Fr. Ted Hesburgh, C.S.C., beloved former president of the University of Notre Dame, stated again and again in homilies and interviews that his favorite prayer was “Come, Holy Spirit.” He said: The Holy Spirit is the ...
"You can eat with us": On Poverty and Community
Twenty years ago, I asked Paul, the tall, burly, blunt, and opinionated leader of the Catholic soup kitchen, if I could take my youth group to serve dinner. “Nope!” he barked. Startled, I squeaked out, “Um, why?” ...Does a Catholic School Evangelize?
Our weekly post describing what you'll find in this week's Church Life. Celebrating Catholic Schools week, Church Life will ask this week: does a Catholic school evangelize?
The Feast of the Holy Family: Not Just a Model
Those of us suspicious of the pious platitudes that too often make their home in Catholic homiletic practice know that the feast of the Holy Family is a "code-red" day for such platitudes. We families assemble in our parishes a...
Weeping with Rachel, in Sorrow and Hope
There are some stereotypes that often accompany the college stage of a woman’s life. Some (like loving babies, studying in coffee shops, etc), I embraced. Others I did my absolute best to avoid (and we'll leave those ones to the im...
Auden on the Feast of St. Stephen
Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree, Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes— Some have got broken—and carrying them up to the attic. The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt...
Advent Fun and Festivity: St. Lucy's Day
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Lucy, a third-century Sicilian girl who pledged her virginity to Christ and endured a martyr’s death when she refused to renounce her faith. Numerous versions of St. Lucy’s martyrd...
The Virgin of Guadalupe and the Season of Advent
For some Christian people throughout the world, especially Mexican and Mexican-American Christians, December 12, of course, is the celebration of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. The feast commemorates her December 9–12, 1531 appearan...