Merry Christmas, friends! I pray that the joy at celebrating the first coming of Our Lord into the world stirs up in our hearts a desire to prepare ever more fervently for His second arrival. We live between the mysteries of Jesus’ Incarnation and His glorious return, and praise God for the vocation we are called to live here and now. Click on title for full column.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news.” (Is 52:7) Click on title for full column.

There is an ambiguity in language that leads to many misunderstandings. In addition to simple problems with words like “to, too, and two,” we also use some words with manifold meanings. C.S. Lewis unpacked four distinct types of love, all using the same English word, in one of his most popular works, but that’s just one example among many. Click title for full column.

Every year, on or around the Feast of All Saints, the seminary here in town has a celebration where our future priests dress as great saints from ages past. Because seminarians are nerds, it often leads to obscure and bizarre saints and costumes; some are just dumb, and others are quite memorable. I wasn’t there at the time, but the legend lives on of a Cincinnati priest (true story) who “dressed up” as St. Jerome by building a small cave in the corner of the bar, sitting inside it, and yelling insults at anyone who came too close to the cave and demanded that people bring him drinks. It’s the kind of gag that would make people hate you at most parties, and it has won that priest my undying respect. Regardless, most people who don’t regularly read the Church Fathers wouldn’t know that St. Jerome maintained a biting and often cruel correspondence with notable figures of his day. In his commentary on the Gospel, when St. Peter proudly announces to the Lord that he has “left everything” to follow Jesus, St. Jerome opines that all he really left behind was a boat and a few nets. Everything he had, perhaps, but a small sum when lined up next to what he received in return. Click title for full column.