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By Clement Harrold September 27, 2024 Until Christ’s second coming, this world remains at least partially under Satan’s authority because it remains enmeshed in sin. As 1 John 3:8 reminds us, “He who commits sin is of the devil.” For this reason the New Testament describes Satan variously as “the ruler of this world” (Jn 12:31), “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4), and “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2). Nevertheless, believers have nothing to fear, since Jesus assures us that the devil is being cast out of this world (see Jn 12:31). Ever since Calvary, the evil one’s power over men has been broken: “[Christ] has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col 1:13). Jesus captures this truth vividly in His parable of the st...

Readings:Genesis 2:18–24Psalm 128:1–6Hebrews 2:9–11Mark 10:2–16 In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a trick question. The “lawfulness” of divorce in Israel was never an issue. Moses had long ago allowed it (see Deuteronomy 24:1–4). But Jesus points His enemies back before Moses, to “the beginning,” interpreting the text we hear in today’s First Reading. Divorce violates the order of creation, He says. Moses permitted it only as a concession to the people’s “hardness of heart”—their inability to live by God’s covenant Law. But Jesus comes to fulfill the Law, to reveal its true meaning and purpose, and to give people the grace to keep God’s commands. Marriage, He reveals, is a sacrament, a divine, life-giving sign. Through the union of husband and wife, God intended to be...

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Did the Arlington Carmelites sell their own monastery? Skip to content The Carmelite nuns of Arlington, Texas, made headlines again this week, as CBS News reported that the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity had been given to a non-profit foundation made up of the community’s benefactors and supporters — reportedly to prevent Bishop Michael Olson from attempting to seize the monastery’s property for diocesan use. Mother Teresa Agnes (front right) with three other Carmelite nuns. The property was reportedly transferred in April, in the same month that nuns rejected the Vatican’s designation of a U.S. Carmelite federation to oversee them, amid an ongoing dispute with Bishop Olson. But the move to transfer property raises some canonical red flags — and points to a controversial practice in Ch...

Blessed Michael McGivney’s love for baseball was part of his mission to build faith, family and community — a legacy carried on by the Knights of Columbus today. Baseball is a game known for its superstitions — and as the MLB playoffs begin Oct. 1, players will certainly be searching for an extra edge to beat their opponents en route to World Series glory. Yet superstition is a “deviation” from true worship of God. However, invoking heavenly intercession is not. But who should Catholic ballplayers turn to for help during the stressful playoff push? As of today, there is no official patron saint of baseball. St. Rita is often cited, not so much for her athletic prowess or love for the national pastime (since the 15th-century nun lived several hundred years before the game’s invention), but ...

Q. According to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), purchasers are technically allowed to copy the contents of physical media that they’ve purchased (such as a music CD, video game disc, etc.) to another platform (such as your computer hard drive) provided they do not send the files out to people, sell bootleg copies, etc. But if the content is locked behind Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology, then it is (ordinarily) illegal to break or circumvent that lock, even for purely private use. So, if you own a music CD, which is not locked, you can legally copy the music from your CD to your computer. But since most film DVDs are locked, it is illegal to break or circumvent the lock, even if your intention is to use the materials for purely private enjoyment. It is my understandi...

The most controversial issues may be off the agenda of next month’s Synod on Synodality assembly in Rome. But make no mistake about it: The Oct. 2-27 gathering could still lead to several big changes that impact daily life in the Catholic Church. Delegates to the synod, which will conclude a four-year global synod process that’s focused on how to increase participation in the Catholic Church, will likely discuss and possibly approve proposals touching on everything from women in leadership positions to the ability of national bishops’ conferences to make doctrinal decisions.  The potential for impactful changes remains even after Pope Francis decided to transfer contentious topics — such as the possibility of women deacons and the discernment of controversial doctrinal issues (includi...

Glemkowski: Why the National Eucharistic Congress worked Skip to content For a lot of U.S. Catholics, the National Eucharistic Congress this July was a milestone event — a national moment for the Church, which, for many, far exceeded their expectations. Tim Glemkowski at the National Eucharistic Congress. Credit: Giovanni Chilelli/Pillar Media. Tim Glemkowski, the lay man who led the Eucharistic Congress team, has faced a lot of questions since the Congress ended. But most of them boil down to just one idea: Why did the National Eucharistic Congress work? Glemkowski gets some version of that question just about every day. To answer it for The Pillar, Glemkowski put pen to paper, for a thorough look at what made the National Eucharistic Congress a different kind of Catholic gathering. Glemk...

On Sept. 8, 1896, St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote an account of a dream she had earlier that year in which she received a “visit” from a Carmelite precursor, Blessed Anne of Jesus, the founder of the Carmelite Order in France, who was beatified today in Belgium by Pope Francis. Thérèse’s account provides a wonderful introduction to Anne and her personality and mission. Thérèse began: O Jesus, my Beloved, who could express the tenderness and sweetness with which you are guiding my soul! It pleases You to cause the rays of Your grace to shine through even in the midst of the darkest storm! This “darkest storm” was an intense trial of faith Thérèse had been undergoing since the day following Easter Sunday of that year, a trial that would continue to test her fortitude as she suffered incurable t...

If you fly up to high altitude to study the past 50 years of American religious life, here is what you will see. Yes, there is the trend toward “nones” and then the “none of the above” believers, which began with the “Sheila-ism” phenomenon that the late sociologist Robert Bellah described in his classic book “Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life.” In it, the woman who was the real Sheila proclaims: “I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheilaism. Just my own little voice. … It’s just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself. You know, I guess, take care of each other. I think God would want us to take care of each other.” Remember, that was already happening in th...

Is Sen. JD Vance telling the truth about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets? If not, should a Catholic political candidate be corrected for spreading falsehoods? The Catholic bishops of Ohio have done just that, as has the Catholic Republican governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine. Former president Donald Trump repeated the claim about Haitians killing and eating pets in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Vance, who represents Ohio in the Senate, repeatedly has made the same claim about his state. The controversy illustrates a different concern about Catholic candidates for political office. For many generations, the usual question has been whether the policies of a particular Catholic candidate cohere with Catholic social teaching. For example, 40 years ago, Catholic v...