Some interest has been generated in online news media (which is the only kind I follow) by Pope Francis’s recent homily in which he affirmed that atheists can accomplish some good in the created order, which provides a “meeting place” for them and religious believers. The Pope went on to say that atheists have been redeemed [...]
Included in the May 2013 issue of First Things is Ephraim Radner’s review of Candida Moss’s book, The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom (HarperOne). I found Moss’s arguments against the historicity of early Christian martyrologies to be particularly familiar and interesting in the light of some recent discussion over at Jason [...]
As reported by AsiaNews.it: The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I will attend Pope Francis’s inaugural Mass. The Ecumenical Patriarchate Press Office informed AsiaNews about the decision, noting that this is the first time such an event occurs since the Catholic-Orthodox split in 1054, an important sign for Christian unity. The ecumenical patriarch will be accompanied by [...]
Today, January 18, marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has posted a web-page featuring some material for the week, including an ecumenical worship service, daily themes, Bible readings, reflections, and prayers. The over-arching theme for the week is the question, “What does God require of [...]
Just over a year ago, we had the pleasure of congratulating Taylor Marshall on earning his doctorate in philosophy. Today, we once again rejoice with a member of Called to Communion on the occasion of his academic accomplishment. Yesterday, December 17, 2012, Bryan Cross successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Alasdair MacIntyre on the Practice of [...]
Today, December 8th, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The name alone is startling, and what makes it worse, the doctrine itself can seem severely abstract. Contrast this with the mysteries of the Rosary that are so concrete: the Visitation, the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Coronation; I have long seen and loved Mary in [...]
For many Evangelical Protestants, the most important point of Christian doctrine is expressed in the affirmation: “I know for sure that I will go to Heaven when I die.” This kind of certitude about one’s eternal destiny is perhaps the biggest “selling point” for a large segment of Evangelical Christianity, as testified by innumerable gospel [...]
On her blog “Seasons of Grace,” Kathy Schiffer reports: “It’s been five years in the making, and this morning the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Orlando, Florida will become Catholic….” For more information, please see the entire post.
Today is the Feast of the Dormition and Assumption of the Mother of God, the Immaculate and Ever-Virgin Mary. Below the icon are are the Scripture Readings for the Feast, from the Ordinary Form of the Mass of the Roman Rite. Here is a song of praise, based upon those readings and offered up to Almighty [...]
Reformed theologian Michael Horton recently claimed that “Trent said in no uncertain terms that Christ’s merits are not sufficient for salvation.” Whether or not that claim sounds suspicious to you, and it did to me, remember one of the cardinal rules in ecumenical inquiry: Don’t get your Catholic theology from Protestant hearsay–and vice versa. Go [...]
