Dear Friends in Christ, The Great Recession of 2008 brought the developed world to the brink of financial ruination, and although in the past eight years some progress has been made in restoring the fiscal health of the West, one economic indicator remains stubbornly stuck at historic lows. Instead of the robust growth rates of…

Dear Friends in Christ, 1. Recovery from my shoulder surgery is going very well, and so I will return to duty on 1 November. This means that our normal liturgical schedule resumes in November, and I will be available again for appointments. It will be several more weeks before I am able to distribute Holy…

Dear Friends in Christ, For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bishops of Rome were saintly scholars and heroic pastors who inspired great devotion among Catholics because of their radiant goodness, and for the Church to have the service of such men is a great blessing. But in that blessing lies a danger.…

Dear Friends in Christ, “Be still and know that I am God.” Thus does the Lord instruct us in Psalm 46, verse 10. The stillness to which we are called in Holy Scripture is a letting go of actions and words that yields silence, both interior and exterior, and such silence is essential for every…

Dear Friends in Christ, Given the great cultural changes through which we are now living, some Catholics may be tempted to withdraw from the world the better to resist the challenges to Christian life that confront us all. But such a withdrawal is not the Catholic way. Consider, for comparison, the Amish, who are famous…