A 24-hour a day Mass times resource that anyone with internet can access is objectively speaking , a great thing. But for the young collegiate Catholic, it is also an excuse killer. When my parents’ generation went to college, they no doubt did a little research on the parishes near …

C.S. Lewis famously likened the task of Christian apologetics to a a jeweler displaying a beautiful diamond. To appreciate its luminous qualities, the jeweler prepared it for viewing by holding it over black velvet fabric. Only against such a contrast can the dazzling colors dance and sparkle. So it is, …

“How Catholic Are We?” asks the April 2016 edition of Cincinnati Magazine. Over the next 20 well-designed pages is a package of well-written and well-researched stories and factoids that quantify the changes in church attendance and population in the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. The numbers and sidebar stories support the …

This month, on May 21, the archdiocese will celebrate the ordination of seven men to the Holy Priesthood, a number not seen in locally in seven years.  This is a very exciting moment for the archdiocese. Interestingly enough, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr has been the leader of this archdiocese for …

Anyone who sets sail on the digital sea eventually faces the internet’s most contentious waters — the comment section. Should one dare keep scrolling past the end of a post for fear of what they might find? Or is it better to read on and see if some further insight might …

Unsurprisingly, the media coverage of Amoris Laetitia continues an age-old misunderstanding of all things Catholic. The media elites can only report our news as as either “progressive” or “traditional.” This stems from a utilitarian and secularized understanding of human “progress.” To the post-modern mind all religions are essentially man-made institutions, …

I don’t know how many people are like me. I consider myself a fairly good listener and have always been ready with what I have considered pretty good advice. I certainly have had my fair share of times when I have given bad advice as well, but good or bad, …

It’s one of those infamous dinnertime phone calls. “Hello, Steffen, this is Travis at Marketing Research Associates. You’ve been identified as an opinion leader and we value your opinions. I would like to ask you a few questions.” If you’re a registered voter and have a landline listed in one …

Millennials at Mass aren’t aren’t extinct, but they seem to be an endangered species. A recent Pew Research Center study noted that in 2014, just 16 percent of millennial Americans identified themselves as Catholic. The same study noted 35 percent of millennials identified themselves as “nones,” a term meaning they …

Dear Father: What happened to Purgatory? Haven’t heard about it for decades. Did it go away? What are the past and current teachings of the church on the subject? Dear Reader: Thank you for your question. Purgatory is still very much a part of church teaching. In paragraphs 1030-1032 of …