2011

Archbishop Jose Gomez has a piece in the latest Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, focusing on Benedict’s new book. This is fantastic stuff! Would that all Catholic bishops would write to their faithful about the need to follow Benedict’s example of Scripture study! Pope Benedict’s attempt to implement the Catholic biblical […]

For St. Perpetua’s day, visit early Christian Africa—in one of the earliest posts on my blog. Carthage, the cosmopolitan port city of ancient North Africa, had a thriving economy, a lively culture, and no small influence in world affairs. Christianity reached the Roman province of “New Africa” no later than the mid-second century, and possibly

The new archbishop of Los Angeles delivered a stirring homily today. I just had to mention some of it here: . . . this is not a future I could have ever imagined for myself [i.e., becoming the archbishop of the largest diocese in America, Los Angeles]. But our God is a God of surprises—un

My good friend Dr. Jeff Morrow (Seton Hall) has an excellent post up over at the excellent blog Caritas et Veritas on the formation of the canon of Scripture. It is astonishing to me the way certain myths persist in scholarship. One example is the traditional narrative about the formation of the canon. I don’t

Following up from part 1. Am I missing any major piece of the puzzle here that wouldn’t require a lot of explanation? Jesus’ Davidic Exorcistic and Healing Powers. Jesus’ exorcisms and healings seem especially tied to his role as the Davidide. The blind healed by him address him specifically as “son of David” (cf. Matt

During my years of training to become a Calvinist pastor, the issue of church polity was quite a live one.  Calvinists themselves do not agree on what is the “biblical model” for church government.  Presbyterian, Reformed, and Congregational denominations share a Calvinist doctrinal heritage but different governing structures.  There was more or less a consensus

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter The New Testament bears ample testimony to the ancient faith of the Roman Christians. Rome marks the final destination of the Acts of the Apostles. Rome was the postal address of the first of St. Paul’s canonical letters. And the ancient Romans treasured their heritage. They knew, with