Fr. Christian Mathis | July 27, 2010
One of the things I have noticed in the process of writing icons by way of egg tempera is that continually throughout the process there are moments when I look down at what I have completed and say to myself, “That looks great already. Maybe I should just stop here.” Who wouldn’t be tempted to [...]
Fr. Christian Mathis | May 6, 2010
You cannot be a man of faith unless you know how to doubt. You cannot believe in God unless you are capable of questioning the authority of prejudice, even though that prejudice may seem to be religious. Faith is not blind conformity to a prejudice–a “pre-judgment.” It is a decision, a judgment that is fully [...]
Fr. Christian Mathis | December 30, 2009
This week I have been reading a book I discovered at a used bookstore here in Austin. The book is called God and Man by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. One of the chapters is entitled “Doubt and the Christian Life” where he speaks eloquently on a topic I have found myself in complete agreement with [...]
Fr. Christian Mathis | September 27, 2009
The first book review that I wrote for The Catholic Company was for a book written by Mike Aquilina. I was so impressed with his book, Signs and Mysteries, that when I saw another one of his books available for review I requested a copy. Fire of God’s Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist, is [...]
Fr. Christian Mathis | September 8, 2009
Imagine your life without fear.
This is the challenge given by Max Lucado in his most recent book, Fearless. One need not look very far in our current society to find those who are selling fear. It seems that every form of media daily uses our own worries against us. Max Lucado gives a simple reminder [...]
Fr. Christian Mathis | July 6, 2009
I believe so that I may understand.
This is the saying of St. Anselm of Canterbury that is explored in Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Fides et Ratio. John Paul reminds us that
…there is a profound and indissoluble unity between the knowledge of reason and the knowledge of faith. The world and all that happens within [...]
Fr. Christian Mathis | June 30, 2009
Pope John Paul continues his thoughts on faith and reason in Fides et Ratio by turning to the fullness of revelation, Jesus Christ. He reminds his readers that,
Underlying all the Church’s thinking is the awareness that she is the bearer of a message which has its origin in God himself.
The knowledge which we have received directly [...]
