Fr. Sean

Fr. Sean Sheridan, TOR: “Keeping Catholic Identity in Troubled Times”

Back in 1978, when the College of Cardinals selected Karol Wojtyla to lead the Catholic Church, he began his pontificate with the message most often repeated in the Scripture – “Be not afraid!” That phrase echoed through Scripture on many occasions and in various forms reassures us of God’s love; it encourages us to let the Lord work in our lives; it inspires us to overcome fear and anxiety by remaining focused on the Lord.

St. Joseph painting

Martin: “Saint Joseph: Strong and Silent”

It is no easy thing to write about sanctity. Nor should anyone wish it to be so, since glibness is the last thing we need when confronting the mysteries of grace. This is particularly the case when the writer himself has so little to boast of in the way of sanctity. But, then, not even the great Bernanos, whose voice gave expression to the soul of Catholic France, could escape the limitations imposed by that fact.

Cross on pew

Martin: “Falling in Love with God”

Dr. Regis Martin, professor of Theology at Franciscan University and author for Crisis Magazine, writes on why falling in love with God above is the single most stupendous adventure awaiting the human heart. So, then, if we are to succeed in restoring something of that taste for God, what Monsignor Knox used to call relish…

black and white Cemetery

Martin: “The Abolition of God and the Annihilation of Man”

When a student of mine returned from a recent visit to Barcelona, where she’d spent a busy month babysitting small children, she reported that the host family she stayed with not only did not go to weekly Mass, or say Grace before meals, but positively refused to believe that these were practices other people might actually observe. When the student pointed out the oddity of their position—after all, Catholics the world over routinely do these things—they reminded her that while in Spain everyone is baptized, after a decent interval most people simply stay away, disdaining the Church whence their New Life in Christ began.

St. Agnes painting wideshot

Martin: “The Ardor of Agnes”

I have known only two women named Agnes in my life. One of them was my grandmother who, having died two years after I was born, I could hardly be expected to remember. But since I was often told things about her—for instance, that she was beautiful and pious and went to Mass every morning—I feel as if I should know her. She raised five sons, by the way, one of them my late father, and with the exception of her oldest son whose plane crashed on a bombing mission over the Balkans, all the others survived their time in World War II and then in Korea. I like to think she managed to get a few things right. And, by all accounts, most of them kept the faith

Hamlet

Martin: “Thoughts on Suicide”

It takes only four seconds to reach the water, the experts tell us, hitting it at a speed of about 75 mph. Death is usually instantaneous, although a few have survived the trauma, some of them even returning to get it right the second time. And while the death toll is impressive, what really catches the eye is the fact that, almost without exception, they are all pointing West, hurling themselves into the black expanse of the night.