In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains the radical moral vision of Christianity. Quite striking is the way in which he begins this explanation. He does not commence his sermon with an abstract exposition of morality. Nor does he … Continue reading
Author Archives: dbrindle
Announcing the Summer 2018 Issue of Dominicana Journal : The Apocalypse
When the world didn’t end in 2000, some people set their apocalyptic hopes on 2012. After those disappointments, perhaps we should finally acknowledge that it’s impossible to predict the day or the hour. But despite failing to come true again … Continue reading
A Body You Prepared for Me
What we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life— for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the … Continue reading
No Prayer in Vain
Why aren’t my prayers answered? One often hears this question in relation to requests big and small. Why hasn’t St. Anthony found my keys yet? Why haven’t I been able to find a new job? Why did my cancer come … Continue reading
Living in Grace
Life really is like a Sigrid Undset novel. It’s all about grace—receiving it and rejecting it. Undset masterfully crafts her characters to reveal the quiet—and sometimes not so quiet—movements of grace in their lives. God lovingly touches each soul, bestowing upon … Continue reading
St. Boniface and the Idols of the Day
Chop! Chop! Chop! Wiping away the perspiration rolling down his broad forehead, the burly Englishman heaved his axe and struck again. Chop! Chop! Chop! The bitter cursing that greeted his first swings died down to an uneasy grumble. “How stiff-necked … Continue reading
The Priesthood and Spiritual Maternity
The vocation to be a spiritual mother for priests is largely unknown, scarcely understood, and, consequently, rarely lived, notwithstanding its fundamental importance. It is a vocation that is frequently hidden, invisible to the naked eye, but meant to transmit spiritual … Continue reading
It’s Time for Figs
I can’t help but feel a bit bad for the poor little fig tree Jesus cursed. It seems unfair! Mark makes it quite clear in his Gospel that “it was not the time for figs.” Nevertheless, when Jesus sees that … Continue reading
A Friendly Visit
For our joy to last, we must share it with others. Unfortunately, in modern society people too often seek antidotes to sadness and loneliness as if these two plagues weren’t related. We ward off sadness by medication and seek companionship … Continue reading
On Valedictions
As we near the end of May, we end a month of graduations and commencement ceremonies. A whole new generation of young adults has been sent into the world with degrees in hand. A venerable tradition for universities today is … Continue reading
All We Need Is Love
No generation passes without affording us some deeper insight into what it is to be human. Professors opine, poets and songwriters construe their craft, and politicians enact laws all to enlarge our experience of life, even if at the end … Continue reading
Happy Memorial Day?
The upbeat greeting of “Happy Memorial Day,” said with the same enthusiasm of Independence Day, has always seemed off to me. This somber national holiday honors the dead rather than focusing on a particular victory. Also known as Decoration Day, … Continue reading
Love and the Vanity of Labor
What are you working for? Our lives are a bustling whirl of labor, occupying our hands during the day and often our minds at night. How overwhelming and toilsome this work can become. There are moments when the words of … Continue reading
Why Wine?
At Mass, bread and wine become, through Christ’s power in the actions of the priest, Christ’s body and blood. Why bread and wine? Well, because that’s what God decided. He was free to choose anything at all when instituting the … Continue reading
Short-Term Evangelization
“Let us offer each other the sign of peace.” The amphitheater housing thousands of high school-aged teens erupts in a joyful rumble of handshakes, hugs, and hubbub. The kiss of peace lasts a good five minutes before the sound of … Continue reading
My Mother’s Keeper
The Church is a Mother. We are her children. As with our earthly mothers, some of us stay near and devoted to our Mother, the Church. Others keep their distance. For those Catholics struggling to love the Church as their … Continue reading
Letter to My Brother
Hey Brother, So, we’re off. It’s one day after Pentecost and we’re getting a taste of the apostolic life, jumping into cars and hopping onto planes. Sorry I didn’t catch up with you before departure day. Summer assignments arrive so … Continue reading
Walk Close to Jesus
Editor’s note: This is the thirteenth and final post in our newest series, reflecting on the Hillbilly Thomists’ recent, self-titled album. The series has run throughout the Easter season. Read the whole series here. This post concerns the song “Just … Continue reading
“Barb, I Love You?”
Theodore is in a dilemma. Over the past few months, he has fallen head-over-heels in love with Barb. She is the woman of his dreams: beautiful, affectionate, gentle, and compassionate. Whenever he treads in Barb’s presence, Theodore’s heart is close … Continue reading
Long and Drawn Out
The monkey sauntered through the brush on the forest floor. The hair on its head, light brown and inexplicably patchy, waved in the breeze. And the head itself was grotesque, enormous, and lopsided. Its legs, roughly identical in length, carried … Continue reading
GPS pro Anima
I was speaking with someone recently who confessed that, even when she knows where she is driving, she’ll use her GPS. “I like having a voice there talking to me,” she explained with a sheepish laugh. “It keeps me company.” … Continue reading
Until He Comes: The Apocalypse and the Catholic Novel
Apocalyptic novels shock and terrify, assaulting the imagination with jarring spectacles. Fire and famine, death and destruction, disasters and deluges. Cities erased and civilizations blotted out. And—perhaps worst of all—the evil and shameful deeds of our fellow men. These scenes … Continue reading
Faith, Hope, and Love Towards Canaan’s Land
Editor’s note: This is the twelfth post in our newest series, reflecting on the Hillbilly Thomists’ recent, self-titled album. The series will run each Tuesday and Thursday throughout the Easter season. Read the whole series here. This post concerns the … Continue reading
I Have Called You Friends
The only apostle who died before the Resurrection of Jesus was the one who betrayed him, Judas Iscariot. The mission of Judas’ apostolic office went unfulfilled, and the number of apostles fell to eleven. After Christ’s Ascension into heaven, however, … Continue reading
Dare We Hope for the Last Judgment?
Faith in the Last Judgment is first and foremost hope.— Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI In Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI proposes the Last Judgment as “not primarily an image of terror, but an image of hope; for us it … Continue reading