Opinion

My blog is usually posted in the evening at about 21:00 (9:00 PM) U.S. Eastern Time. But in Sydney, Australia, it is 1:00 in the afternoon of the following day

Last week, I had the great good fortune to sit down for a Zoom interview with Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, and John Vervaeke. As I’m sure you know, Peterson, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, is one of the most influential figures in the culture today. Pageau is an artist and iconographer working in the Orthodox Christian tradition, and Vervaeke is a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto.

Next week we begin a Jubilee Year to mark the 250th anniversary of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first church founded in what is now the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, on September 8, 1771.

I am currently making my way through D.C. Schindler’s marvelous book The Politics of the Real: The Church Between Liberalism and Integralism. 

I have always loved how, in God’s providence, the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Junípero Serra three days before our nation celebrates its independence on July 4.

The past fifteen months have been a time of crisis and deep challenge for our country, and they have been a particular trial for the Catholics.

The prayers that we say during Mass are a treasure of spirituality.

Today, from a young age and throughout their lives, many desperately ask themselves, even if subconsciously, “Who am I?” The question is so common that we forget that it is a peculiarly modern question, one that we ask all the time, even when we don’t use those words: “Am I a nurse, a teacher, a businessman by nature? Does this house fit me? What does my vote say about me?”

God may often send us challenges, but he always offers us his mercy and grace. That is how I feel about this past year. We have suffered in so many ways under this pandemic. But we have also felt God’s mercy and love, and experienced so many graces.

Premier Christian Radio in the UK just sponsored a survey that investigated how the COVID crisis has affected religious beliefs and attitudes.