TOBET Blogs
Is St. Joseph a Father?
Catholics often think of St. Joseph as the obvious exemplar for fatherhood. However, like many Christian mysteries that we take too easily for granted, I think we often overlook how counterintuitive it is to place St. Joseph as the model of fatherhood. First, the...
Jesus’ Sacred Heart
June is traditionally the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus comes to us most popularly through St. Margaret Mary Alacocque, a 17th century French nun. She experienced visions of Jesus in which He shared with her the...
Motherhood and Life: Gift or Right?
Our recent celebration of Mother’s Day and the Church’s dedication to Mary during May stand in a certain paradoxical contrast to the current media obsession regarding Roe v. Wade. That is, the contemporary public discourse seems to be almost exclusively rooted in a...
Memento Mori
“Remember, you will die.” Better known perhaps in Latin, “memento mori” is the catchy phrase that the Church has inherited from centuries of tradition. It’s never been a particular favorite of mine - it’s a bit of a downer, very pithy, and therefore to my mind rather...
March 25 and Our Re-Creation
My favorite day in Lent is March 25. No, it’s not my favorite since I can eat dessert because it is a solemnity (though that’s a bonus)! Rather, it is the day that “the body entered theology…through the main door” (TOB 23:4). What does Pope John Paul mean? And how...
Theology of the Body and Lenten Asceticism
Lent is back. As Catholics, we are accustomed during this season to hear various exhortations to further conversion in our lives, especially through practicing the three traditional Lenten practices of prayer, asceticism, and almsgiving. It seems to me that most of us...
Salvation and Sacrament
Increasingly, we as a society are not at ease in our own bodies. In the last twenty years, the availability of computers, smart phones, and other “screens” have made it easier than ever to “connect” with others—indeed, to live—in complete physical isolation. At the...
Valentine’s Day and Redeemed Eros
I am writing this blog on Valentine’s Day, which seems rather appropriate since it’s a day filled with cupids and hearts highlighting romantic love’s strong attraction. As Catholics, however, we sometimes downplay this erotic dimension of love in favor of emphasizing...
From “Luv” to “Love”
“I love you.” Those are powerful words—or they ought to be, if “luv” becomes love. What is “luv?” We all recognize “luv” as that attraction and infatuation for someone else and the intense feelings that come it. Now, I don’t mean to criticize “luv.” Not at all. In...
A Fresh Start
“Behold, I am doing a new thing...” (Isaiah 43:19) Somewhere along the way of the Christian life—somewhere amid all of the Masses, the Rosaries, the novenas, and the Confessions—anyone pursuing a life of Christian virtue very often ends up in a rut. The experience of...