Catholicism.org » Philosophy

Reflections on Knowledge, Beauty, and Wisdom

Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M. — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:22:08 +0000

[Taken randomly from Brother Francis' lectures, with a minor amount of editing.]

Some things have to become part of our knowledge through acquaintance, so to speak. Knowledge becomes impossible if everything needs a definition.

If someone were to ask you a question and say, “What does this mean?” And you say, “It means this ... ...Read More »

Natural Law and the Church’s Necessity

Brother André Marie — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:54:45 +0000

When you see an article with a title like, Do You Renounce Kennedy and All His Works?, you can have a moral certitude that it was written by John Zmirak, the eccentric, Croatian-Irish, working-class Yalie turned standup apologist. (I was an undergrad at LSU when John was getting his Ph.D. there, and I owe him ... ...Read More »

Immortality of Soul, Creation Ex Nihilo: Qs and As on the Power of Reason Alone

Brian Kelly — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:02:27 +0000

Q: Is it really possible to explain, using reason alone, the immortal nature of the human soul, versus the animal soul? I understand that the ability to reason is particular to humans, but I don’t see how this proves our immortality. I believe it because the Church teaches it, but I can’t get it ... ...Read More »

The Church vs. Economic Liberalism: Ferrara Nails It!

Robert Boehm — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:45:20 +0000

[Christopher A. Ferrara, The Church and the Libertarian (Minnesota: The Remnant Press, 2010), $25, 383 pp., soft cover.]

Since hearing, a few years ago that Chris Ferrara was preparing this book, I have eagerly looked forward to reading it. I have not been disappointed. This is a tremendous and necessary defense against a dangerous ,widespread ideology ... ...Read More »

Liberalism: An Evil Defined

Brother André Marie — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:20:43 +0000

The following excellent explanation of liberalism is taken from: Parente, Pietro; Piolanti, Antonio; and Garofalo, Salvatore, Dictionary of Dogmatic Theology, translated by Emmanuel Doronzo, O.M.I., S.T.D., Ph.D. (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1951) p. 163 and 164. I have provided only the linked references and one small note in brackets.

Liberalism. A doctrinal current, ... ...Read More »

Philosophy in Our School of Thought

Brother André Marie — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:03:09 +0000

Speaking of the work of Saint Benedict Center and the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Brother Francis often said, "We are three things at once: a crusade, a religious order, and a school of thought." Usually, he would embellish this utterance with little summaries of each of the three. By crusade, he meant our two-fold apostolate for the conversion of America and the restoration of doctrinal sanity, beginning with that very fundamental dogma, extra ecclesiam nulla salus. (We put the definite article and a capital C here: The Crusade.) By religious order, he meant our Congregation's First and Second Orders...

No Escaping the Threes

Brian Kelly — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:08:48 +0000

Reminiscing over the days when I would spend hours at a time leisurely listening to Brother Francis teach and asking him questions, I thought of the countless times we played the numbers game. Brother loved to make all studies as light and enjoyable as possible. Someone would throw out a number and the players would ... ...Read More »

Contribution Of Catholic Letters

Dr. Robert Hickson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:22:24 +0000

(This is the paper written in preparation for a talk given at the 2005 St. Benedict Center Conference.)

(Saint Anthony Mary Zaccharia, July 5, 2005)

The Contribution Of Catholic Letters To The Conversion Of Our Country

A deepening, savored knowledge of the nature and scope of Catholic Letters will inspire and fortify those of the Catholic ... ...Read More »

Evelyn Waugh’s Edmund Campion

Dr. Robert Hickson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:43:15 +0000

(28 January 2006, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Peter Nolasco)

Forming a Catholic Resistance and Deeper Culture of the Faith in Times of Permeating Disorder: Evelyn Waugh’s Edmund Campion (1935) and Some Combatant Lessons from the Sixteenth Century

The scope and depth of Evelyn Waugh’s grateful and manly book, Edmund Campion, will, when ... ...Read More »

A Brief Metaphysical Excursus on the Words “First” and “Second”

The Philosopher — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:42:01 +0000

If you have survived the magniloquent name of this little piece, you should easily get though the rest, for the grandiose title heads a subject matter well within reach.

It occurred to me while I was deep in thought — philosophers do that, you know — that a firm grasp of the concepts “first” and “second” ... ...Read More »