A forum of Catholic Thought

John, a witness to the AssumptionMichael Pakaluk

The latest date scholars give to Mary's Assumption, if they have faith and believe in the Assumption, is the early 60s AD. The earliest date at which scholars place the writing of John's Gospel ...

Will millions die due to USAID cuts?Effie Caldarola

How does the world view the U.S. right now? How do we deserve to be viewed? Are we working to create "the beloved community" which Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned, which is another way of saying "the ...

How thoughts affect usEffie Caldarola

It's been many years since I drove my kids daily to their Catholic school in Anchorage, Alaska. Every mom -- and everyone who was ever a kid -- remembers the occasional chaos of school mornings, grabbing ...

AI? Ho hum.Michael Pakaluk

When Friedrich Wohler in 1828 synthesized urea, the first organic compound to be manufactured in a laboratory, the popular newspapers of the day received the news as an earth-shattering development, which, ...

The shepherd dies with his sheepEffie Caldarola

In the midst of the bloody Syrian civil war, a Dutch Jesuit named Father Frans van der Lugt was killed in the ravaged city of Homs. It was April 7, 2014. He was beaten and then shot in the head. The ...

The passions of the ChristMichael Pakaluk

One of the most striking differences between the early Christians and us is that they lacked any conception of "the emotions." Rather, what they talked about were "the passions." What's the difference? ...

In the gardenEffie Caldarola

It was a little past 5 in the morning when I was jarred awake by a wet tongue licking my nose. We were dog-sitting our daughter's pit bull, and this was my morning wake-up call. Being quiet for my ...

The intimacy of the ResurrectionMichael Pakaluk

Here is a puzzle: The suffering and death of the Lord were public. He was sentenced by Roman authorities before a crowd and put to death on a public byway with the placard, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of ...

What is civilization?Michael Pakaluk

It has no entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia; it is not mentioned in the Catechism; yet the popes talk about it in their encyclicals. What is "civilization?" Is Christianity responsible for it? Is Western ...

A Birmingham jailEffie Caldarola

In April 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sat in jail in Birmingham, Alabama. Famously committed to non-violence, Rev. King was arrested after leading a peaceful march of Black protesters who ...