Recent Posts…
Where Is That in the Bible? (And Other Questions for People Who Can’t Find the Remote)
"Where is that in the Bible?" It’s the ultimate Protestant mic-drop. It’s the "Get Out of Jail Free" card played during every Thanksgiving dinner when your Uncle Bob decides to take a swing at Purgatory or the Papacy. It’s the rhetorical equivalent of asking someone for their ID at a bar, if you don't have […]
Catholic Church and Science: 10 Things You Should Know Before You Start a Debate
"Religion is just a fairy tale for people who are scared of science." Really? That’s the line we’re still using? It’s 2026, and somehow the "Conflict Thesis", the idea that the Church and Science are locked in a cage match to the death, still has better PR than reality. It’s lazy. It’s historically illiterate. And […]
7 Mistakes You’re Making with Catholic History (and Why Constantine Didn’t Actually Invent the Church)
"Constantine invented the Catholic Church." It’s the ultimate "mic-drop" for people who haven't opened a history book since high school. It’s the "Get Out of Jail Free" card for anyone trying to argue that the early Church was a loose collection of hippie communes until a Roman Emperor decided to turn it into a political […]
Dinosaurs, the Big Bang, and the Church That Nodded Along: A 3-Minute Crash Course in Catholic Science
“The Catholic Church is against science.” That slogan has been running on fumes for a while. Yes, there have been Catholic mistakes, bad arguments, nervous theologians, and at least one famous Galileo-shaped mess. But the popular story, that the Church spent two thousand years hiding from dinosaurs, banning curiosity, and yelling at the Big Bang, […]
Catholic Apologetics 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Arguments That Actually Work
Stop trying to "win" arguments. Seriously. If your goal in Catholic apologetics is to walk away with a metaphorical trophy and a digital "mic drop" while the other person feels like a theological floor mat, you’ve already lost. I’ve been a catechist for over 20 years. I’ve seen every "gotcha" question in the book, from […]
Random Posts
Many Parts, One Body: In Defense of Silent Worship
I hate to say it, but recently, for the first time ever, I left a retreat genuinely disappointed. I had some things on my heart, chief among them being unhappiness with my job. These are things for which I usually feel uplift and consolation during retreats. This time, it was different, but not because of the […]
Where Is That in the Bible? (And Other Questions for People Who Can’t Find the Remote)
"Where is that in the Bible?" It’s the ultimate Protestant mic-drop. It’s the "Get Out of Jail Free" card played during every Thanksgiving dinner when your Uncle Bob decides to take a swing at Purgatory or the Papacy. It’s the rhetorical equivalent of asking someone for their ID at a bar, if you don't have […]
Genderless Marriage and Arguments from Emotion
Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good analogy, but this piece by Doug Mainwaring really did a great job, in my opinion, of summing up the totality of the public discourse over the possibility of same-sex marriage. He begins: In our sometimes misguided efforts to expand our freedom, selfish adults have systematically dismantled that […]
The Unfitness of Ideas: Contraceptive Mentalities and Natural Selection
Before the Supreme Court this week will be the question of “same-sex marriage.” The potential for a Roe v. Wade category of decision making is certainly there: a decision that may echo in American discourse for the next few generations, much as Roe is still. A branch of the federal government, the SCOTUS, has […]
The Faces of Hope: Patrick’s Favorite Images of the Popes
Since the election of Pope Francis, Justin has posted several photos of him on Oramus and begged the question of how we cannot automatically love our new pontiff. I’ve recently found myself wondering the same thing. As I was gathering material for my last few entries, I found photos of the popes during whose reign […]
Advent and Christmas Wisdom From G. K. Chesterton
Description Advent is upon us this evening, and one of my favorite companions in the last few years has been this book. Of course, one of my favorite mental companions in general has been Chesterton, and my favorite liturgical season is Advent, so this book has a lot going for it from the get-go. Features […]