March 2019

The word “sacrament” comes from a Latin word, sacramentum. In ancient Rome, sacramentum was a legal term. It referred to a bond you posted at the beginning of a lawsuit as the proof of your good faith that you would pay the judgment if you lost.

Most people are familiar with Pope Saint John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, two of the most important Catholic theologians and leaders of the twentieth century. But less well-known is the nineteenth-century theologian who had a profound impact on the work of both these great thinkers: Fr. Matthias Joseph Scheeben.

Thinking is hard work. That’s why, if I can make a mean generalization, so few people do it. Believing is, in itself, pretty easy, though oftentimes the consequences of belief can be deeply challenging. Having an opinion is the easiest thing of all. Thinking is the process whereby our minds attempt to arrive at a true understanding of reality, which, if successful, leads to knowledge