BISHOP OLMSTED

In the previous part of this series, we looked at the first of three stages of education for human freedom, and saw how it is built on natural inclinations given to us by God and on the discipline of obedience. Now, we shall consider the second stage, where we progressively interiorize what has been learned in stage one. Here, personal initiative comes to the fore and virtues begin to be formed. We develop a consistency of personal intention to act in accord with excellence.

“It is not enough to say ‘I am free’,” Blessed John Paul II was accustomed to say, “One needs also to say ‘I am...

“Give me liberty or give me death,” Patrick Henry’s famous cry, at our nation’s birth, continues to stir hearts today; the struggle for freedom is no less urgent now, as evidenced in rallies and fortnights throughout our country protesting against the HHS mandates and other threats to religious liberty.

The 25th of this month of July will mark the 44th anniversary of one of the most prophetic documents in the history of the...

In the nuptial blessing of a wedding Mass, the following words are found, “May your abundant blessing, Lord, come down upon this bride and...

Editor's note: This is the second part in a series of columns by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted that celebrated of the holy Year for Priests....

Editor's note: This is the first part in a series of columns by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted that celebrated of the holy Year for Priests....

A particularly dramatic moment of human freedom occurs in a Catholic wedding when a man and woman stand before the altar and answer three...

The fruit of the womb is holy. Every child is a blessing. A child is never an evil, even if the circumstances that led to the beginning of a new human person were not morally upright.

In the first three parts of this series we have explored the meaning of sacred music, the Church’s role in preserving and fostering it, and its role in evangelizing culture.