A forum of Catholic Thought

Is there any reason I shouldn't do yoga?Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk

In the United States, there are roughly 30 million practitioners of yoga, alongside an expanding industry providing yoga-related products and services, classes, workshops, and equipment. But many Christians ...

Scripture Reflection for May 11, 2025, Fourth Sunday of EasterDeacon Greg Kandra

Acts 13:14, 43-52 Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Rv 7:9, 14b-17 Jn 10:27-30 Are we listening? This week's Gospel from John offers this simple, matter-of-fact statement from Jesus: "My sheep hear my voice." That ...

Our heart of darknessGreg Erlandson

"The people stood by and watched." This simple line in Luke's Passion narrative (Lk 23:35) struck me with unusual force this past Holy Week. Under Roman governance, executions were a public spectacle, ...

Pope Francis and the persistent habit of 'maybe'Russell Shaw

The legacy of Pope Francis is large and complex, with plenty of high points. But part of it is ambiguity and verbal confusion on matters of church doctrine, pointing to a need for clarification by whoever ...

Laying odds on papabili, and our vulgar churchElizabeth Scalia

''One of the good things about a Catholic church is that it isn't respectable...You can find anyone in it, from duchesses to whores, from tramps to kings." -- Dame Philippa Talbot, "In This ...

Mourning Pope Francis: A Jewish meditation on his legacyMenachem Z. Rosensaft

Pope Francis was, without question, the most important and most influential religious and theological figure of the 21st century, not just for Roman Catholics, not just for Christians, but for Jews as ...

Bishop Fenwick's appointment to Boston in 1825Rebecca Maitland

The month of May brings many things: flowers and other signs of spring, graduation season for many high schools and universities, and, in the Catholic Church, "Mary's Month," a period of heightened ...

The call of Pope Francis' final Easter messageMichael Reardon

''In the Lord's Paschal Mystery, death and life contended in a stupendous struggle, but the Lord now lives forever (cf. Easter Sequence). He fills us with the certainty that we, too, are called ...

The best of Francis: Five unforgettable momentsElizabeth Scalia

As the world absorbs the news of the death of Pope Francis -- and before the ever-busy oddsmakers and deep insiders begin the game of papabile speculation that accompanies every papal death and conclave ...

Scripture Reflection for April 27, 2025, Sunday of Divine MercyDeacon Greg Kandra

Acts 5:12-16 Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 Rv 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 Jn 20:19-31 Who doesn't appreciate having a second chance? Divine Mercy Sunday is all about second chances -- how God offers us ...