Institute of Catholic Culture

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” - Micah 5:2

The soul who contemplates for more than a moment the events surrounding the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin on Tepeyac Hill in December of 1531 cannot fail to shudder before the uniqueness of this mystery. Our attention is focused on at least two things: a supernatural intervention in the life of a nation that has no equal, and a speculation about the rest of the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe that has yet to unfold.

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” - Micah 5:2

“When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” - Galatians 4:4-5

“When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony. ...Moreover, the annual and universal celebration of the feast of the Kingship of Christ will draw attention to the evils which anticlericalism has brought upon society in drawing men away from Christ, and will also do much to remedy them. While nations insult the beloved name of our Redeemer by suppressing all mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity and power, all the more universally affirm his rights.” - Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas 19, 25

“It is quite evident that the present time especially cries out for a keener awareness of the Socratic-Platonic wisdom… It cries out for resistance to the attempt and the temptation to establish the autocratic rule of man, who deludes himself that he possesses sovereign powers over the world and over himself and thus squanders his real existential patrimony.” - Josef Pieper, Divine Madness: Plato’s Case Against Secular Humanism

“Human words and language accomplish a two-fold purpose, as Plato without doubt would have answered—in clear agreement with the entire tradition of Western thought. …First, words convey reality. We speak in order to name and identify something that is real, to identify it for someone, of course—and this points to the second aspect in question, the interpersonal character of human speech.” - Josef Pieper, Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

It has become apparent that something must be done about technology in our lives. But we feel lost: just what is the problem, and how do we address it? This lecture will examine what Pope Francis calls the technocratic paradigm, and will offer a diagnosis along with concrete steps to address this fundamental problem of our times.

“Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much. Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes, not divine, but demonic.” - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions