Institute of Catholic Culture

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." — John 1:14 (Part 1/5)

Each Lent we deepen our interior conversion of heart through works of penance, namely, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Their purpose is not to make us feel or appear gloomy, but rather in them we find deep joy in the working of grace.

In addition to retaking much of the Roman Empire from the barbarian kingdoms of Europe, sixth-century Byzantine emperor Justinian promulgated a legal code which helped lift the West out of its tribal past and into the rule of law.

The Church teaches euthanasia is a moral evil, but many Catholics are still conditioned by the false premises at the root of our culture's attitude towards death. The medieval 'ars moriendi' offers a more robust model for dying well.

“There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk round the whole world till we come back to the same place…” ― G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man (Part 2/2)

“There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk round the whole world till we come back to the same place…” ― G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man (Part 1/2)

How are we to interpret God's actions in the Old Testament regarding vengeance, plagues, and other violent events in light of the Incarnation? Is there a difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament?

This is part two of a two-part series of Advent reflections with Monsignor Charles Pope.

"In just thirteen years, [the] world was to be transformed as no single mortal man before or since has transformed it, united and ordered all the way from Greece to the shrouded heart of India..." — Warren Carroll, The Founding of Christendom, 197

This is part one of a two-part series of Advent reflections with Monsignor Charles Pope.