This week  the other doctoral students on the Crossed Purposes podcast and I talk about the liturgy. I give my top 7 reasons for why you should use liturgy in church and Josh asks the question what makes Rocky Horror Picture Show different then church. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Download it here Read more

If you haven’t read  Dorothy Sayers you are missing out on some incredible insights on God and life. One of the best works of her’s that I have encountered is Letters to a Diminished Church. In which you find the following gem on the incarnation: He [Jesus of Nazareth] was not a kind of demon pretending to be human; he was in every respect a genuine living man. He was not merely a man so good as to be “like God”—he was God.  Now,... Read more

The Latino/Latina population is quickly becoming a dominant aspect of North American Catholicism, and christian spirituality in general. Because of this shift, it has become increasingly important to understand the spirituality of Latino people. Like it or not Latino spirituality will become a part of local parish life more and more in the years to come. This reality has had mixed responses. There are already many people who have made comprehensive condemnations of Latino/Latina spirituality when they encounter the differences... Read more

In 1988 the Congregation for Divine worship approved a set of adaptations to the mass to be used in the Diocese of Zaire that might rightly be considered the most dramatic adaptations to the Latin Mass of the Catholic Church to date. The Roman Missal for the Dioceses of Zaire is a unique attempt at liturgical inculturation, but it is not one that has developed without controversy. The issues that surround its inception and implementation highlight many of the concerns... Read more

MY OWN ENCOUNTERS WITH THE EUCHARIST IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCHFor the last five years I have gone to a Catholic mass every week, sat in a pew and observed Catholics take part in communion. This Eucharistic celebration of the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine is what the Catholic Church calls the source and summit of the life and mission of the church. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper truly constitutes the primary reason Catholics gather... Read more

Today marks the beginning of the last week of Advent the time of year that where the church enters into a time of expectation before Christmas. This time of year is filled with rituals and traditions for many people. As a student of rituals, not only do I love my own rituals, but also the rituals that others do. I thought that today I would share with you a few of the rituals and traditions that my family has adopted for Advent and Christmas.... Read more

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 5 of 5 stars I first encountred the Hobit as a little boy. My father read it to me at bed time each night. As I grew older I read it for myself, reading it a half dozen times as a kid and I also gave it another read about 10 years ago but it had been a while since I last read the story. With the new Hobit movie now in theaters... Read more

This week me and the other doctoral students on the Crossed Purposes podcast talk about the end of the world and why people predict the end of the world every couple of years. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Download it here Read more

Last last week me and the other doctoral students on the Crossed Purposes podcast  finally got around to talking about the Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon film The Cabin in the Woods. We bring up questions about sacrifice, roles, horror movies, and whether people are more important than a person. Also The Sword of Truth, and Kingdoms of Amalur come up. Warning: SPOILERS!. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Download it here Read more

You Got To Be Kidding by Joe Wenke My rating: 1 of 5 stars So I recently read this book and I have to say is possibly the worst book on the Bible that I have ever encountered. There must have been some publisher who woke up in the middle of the night one day and said do you know what the world needs more of insipid nonsense and they tracked down Joe Wenke to create it. The author of... Read more