A forum of Catholic Thought

'These holy paintings can heal us'

(Following is the text of the prepared remarks addressed by Spanish artist David Lopez to Cardinal O'Malley describing the 1,300 sq. ft. hand-painted altarpiece at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Jamaica ...



Arise!Scott Hahn

God, who formed us in His imperishable image, did not intend for us to die, we hear in today's First Reading. Death entered the world through the devil's envy and Adam and Eve's sin; as a ...

The little way to pray all day, even if you have no time to spare!Elizabeth Scalia

There is a saying, dubiously attributed to St. Francis de Sales but it sounds more like Venerable Fulton Sheen to me: "Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer every day, except when we are busy -- ...

Mainstay of Seminarians in the Missions: The Society of St. Peter ApostleMaureen Crowley Heil

Our latest visitor to the Pontifical Mission Societies of Boston took me on a walk down memory lane. Archbishop Lambert Bainomugisha from the Archdiocese of Mbarara, Uganda was in town to be the main ...

Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation and for Masses with ChildrenFather Robert M. O'Grady

This final article on Eucharistic Prayers considers two sets of Eucharistic Prayers that can be used in very specific circumstances. Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation I and II These two prayers ...

The responsibilities of freedomMichael Reardon

''Those who expect to reap the blessings of Freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.'' So opens Thomas Paine's "American Crisis Number IV." "Crisis Number IV" ...

President Polk's 1847 visit to BostonMatthew Radulski

On June 29, 1847, Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick wrote in his journal: "The President of the U. States arrives in the City, is received by the authorities and citizens. A procession is made through the ...

The opportunity of summer: Build and repair relationshipsDr. R. Jared Staudt

"Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been in better touch." We were sitting on the porch late at night, two blocks from the beach, with the waves and sounds of the boardwalk within earshot. "I know ...

Why does the Catholic Church oppose contraception?Jenna Marie Cooper

Q: A Catholic doctor who has to prescribe birth control pills as part of his job does not agree with the church's teaching on contraception. He says the Bible does not talk about contraception. If contraception ...