Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Catholics I Like To Write About

Catholics I Like To Write About

Last updated on: October 19, 2023 at 7:21 am by Kristin Wilson

Catholics I Like To Write About 2023-10-19T07:21:56-05:00 Kristin Wilson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As a Catholic or someone interested in Catholic things, what type of Catholics do you like to listen to in a podcast, watch in a youtube video or read in an article or book to gain deeper insight into the truth, beauty and goodness of Catholicism? The answers will vary depending on what speaks to your soul personally and what you feel uplifts you in your faith journey.

Catholics I Like To Write About

For me personally I like writings and such not that not only display solidly orthodox official Catholic teaching but displays it in a creative unique way that strikes something in me that I find worth remembering and thinking about and might draw me closer to loving God and neighbor more. Never underestimate how wit, art and creativity play a part in sharing Christ’s word in the human heart and soul. It was this piece of writing that led me to return to being Catholic after wandering away hanging out with some of Jesus’s other sheep.

There are things wrong with the sola scriptura doctrine. First, it separates Church and Scripture. But they are one. They are not two rival horses in the authority race, but one rider (the Church) on one horse (Scripture). The Church as writer, canonizer, and interpreter of Scripture is not another source of revelation but the author and guardian and teacher of the one source, Scripture. We are not taught by a teacher without a book or by a book without a teacher, but by one teacher, with one book, Scripture.
-Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of the Faith (1988)

But mere true Catholic teaching is not enough. Pope Francis explains this in his answer to dubium submitted to him by some cardinals in what amounts to his explanation of Pastoral Charity.

“However, in our relationships with people, we must not lose the pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes. The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.”

I like to read, watch or listen to individuals or groups that display this attitude in their media output. I’ll even see them in person if there in town. Kristin and I recently went to see Dawn Eden Goldstein talk about her book about the sponsor of Alcoholic Anonymous founder Bill Wilson (no relation) Father Ed.

As an experienced journalist, he should have known that even intelligent readers can find it difficult to grasp an unfamiliar concept when it is presented to them. Within the space of a brief article, he had not only introduced the idea of dum-dum thinking but also tried to apply it to the great St. Thomas. Of course that would elicit confusion among budding heresy hunters—especially when he threw in the part about how Aquinas, after a supernatural experience, likened his Summa Theologiae to chaff.

I also like to write and quote these types of people as I take a deep dive and shine a spotlight on their writing, youtube videos or podcasts. Kreeft, Dawn and Deacon Steven D. Greydanus are on my list of people I want to write at length about perhaps one day. Deacon Steve is mostly known for his insightful movie reviews given from a Catholic perspective at Decent Films – SDG Reviews.

Part of the credit for Raiders’ singular achievement belongs to the screenwriting contributions of Lawrence Kasdan (who also co-wrote the best Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back). Allen’s Marion, too, is a far more engaging romantic interest than the off-putting leading ladies of the sequels. The master stroke, though, is the inspired choice to build the story around Nazis hunting for the Ark of the Covenant. Iconic good and iconic evil: what’s more, iconic antisemitic villains versus an actual icon of the covenant deity of the Jewish people. Eight years earlier, The Exorcist offered a gut-wrenching morality tale about, among other things, the spiritual dangers of messing around with Ouija boards and demons. The climax of Raiders offers a complementary warning about trifling with the no less terrible power of the holy.
Indiana Jones movies and Raiders of the Lost Ark: Why the original still stands alone – Decent Films

I would call the article The Decent Writing of Deacon Steven Greydanus. He graciously let me share his insightful non-movie writing on my website.

Joe Biden is Not a Heretic FEBRUARY 13, 2021

And I like a variety of individuals who come at the faith from different perspectives or angles and put a different emphasis on various topics and subjects.

The diversity of thought within Catholic teaching, like variety within the strictures of sonnets, is one of its most beautiful features. It is nevertheless important to listen, as much as we can, to a broad chorus of Catholic thinkers. I have found great consolation in the fact that someone holier and smarter than myself has likely asked my questions already; my job is to find them and to listen, and then to make as many people as possible read block quotations about it.
Sharon Kabel , OSB vs. UFO: Stanley Jaki and the Theology of Aliens (June 16, 2021) OnePeterFive

This quote from OnePeterFive expresses for me the reason I love to quote other Catholics. Were a diverse bunch of baptized children of God who like to write about the faith. We can learn something from one another if we listen.

It is the Holy Spirit that brings peace and confidence in God. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us courage to take up the mission of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that transforms us into the body of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires us with love for all of our brothers and sisters. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to forgive each other’s sins.The Resurrection changes everything | National Catholic

Can you tell which of the two National Catholic Newspapers these articles are from?

Register or Reporter?

We have Masses said for our deceased grandmas and uncles and other loved ones because we don’t want to take anything for granted — because we can’t know where they are on the purgatorial path, and there’s nothing better we can do for them than to direct some supernatural oomph their way. The same goes for Janis. All we know is that she’s dead, and that heaven is what she was destined for — what she was created for. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she immediately recognized Love incarnate at the moment of her death; that she knelt, bowed her head, and uttered her definitive Fiat; that she’s heaven bound now, and could use a celestial lift. Why I Had a Mass Offered for Janis Joplin| National Catholic

This quote about the BCCT also exemplifies the other types of Catholics I sometimes write about which are those who are opposed to the type of Catholicism displayed and expressed by the Vatican 2 generation who loves Pope Francis. I overall don’t recommend their websites as they spew a lot of nasty negative unsavory output. I call them the Catholic Rigorous Vortex . I however have gone out of my way to comb through their websites and find those writings that apply to the Pope Francis Pastoral Charity Principle. Sometimes finding good wonderful material worth sharing from their sites is like trying to find a lost grey rock on a beach as the tide is coming in. Church Militant is one such example of trying very hard while exhausting your brain to find positivity in a sea of negativity. But it can be done if you apply the Whatever Biblical Principle

Whatever is true,
Whatever is noble,
Whatever is right,
Whatever is pure,
Whatever is lovely,
Whatever is admirable—
Anything that is excellent or praiseworthy
—Write about such things
so others can think about such things.
Philippians 4:8-New International Version (modified).

Church Militant’s Better Doppelganger AUGUST 17, 2020

Catholics under 40 are well aware: The Church has a personnel problem. We’re dorks. It’s precisely why regular people don’t take us seriously. We need to recapture our cool to spread the Faith to the world at large.

Think about it. What happens when an entire generation of quarterbacks, soldiers, prom kings and social media influencers is told Christianity is about reading books and being generally constipated and boring? A mass exodus ensues. And for no reason, mind you.

While sanctity is a must, Christians also need to be genuine, which goes hand in hand with being fun and interesting.

I’m not advocating ditching holiness and virtue to be cool. What I’m saying is put down the theology books once in a while and learn to recreate like normal people. For the sake of all that’s good and holy, pick up an issue of Sports Illustrated. Perhaps — gasp — play some video games. Maybe, God forbid, lift a weight (something heavier than the Summa Theologiae). Joseph Enders Make Catholicism Cool Again (churchmilitant.com)

It’s ironic that that article appeared on their website. CM even took their mean streak and used it to defend the legitimacy of the Pope.

Now that I found the good in them, I have completed my task and can go back to probably ignoring them most of the time unless a small little gem of wisdom comes my way.

Why write about those you disagree with?

It’s easy to find all the theology, spirituality and catholic practice that others get wrong. This type of media permeates the internet with ugliness and division in the body of Christ. They will know we are Christians by how much we admonish our brethren and whip them out of the church like Jesus whipped the tax collectors out of the temple. It’s much more challenging to find the good, true and beautiful aspects of our faith that we all hold in common with those we disagree with on other important issues and teachings. Looking for something positive in someone who we frown upon also breaks us out of our tribe and bubble and helps us to see those who claim to be Catholic are our brothers and sisters by baptism in the faith. Sometimes you discover that different people write about the same sorts of things.

What Patheos and One Peter Five have in Common MAY 20, 2020
A Taste of First Peter Five and Patheos Catholic MAY 21, 2020

The silence of Saint Joseph allowed God to speak to His saint and to be heard over the noise of the carpenter’s shop, over the haggling of customers and suppliers in Nazareth, where he plied his artisanship, over the multitude of taxpayers thronging into Bethlehem at the time of the census of Caesar Augustus, and over the foreign tongues that he would hear in Egypt. Joseph, the just man, distinguished himself by his intimate rapport with the Lord whom he served, for he obeyed the Father’s command to take to his home the Blessed Virgin, the living tabernacle of the new and eternal covenant. Saint Joseph provided food, shelter, and a loving home for God the Son, and he protected the Mother of God from idle speculation and malicious gossip.
Father Thomas Kocik, When Silence Speaks Volumes: A St. Joseph’s Day Reflection (March 19, 2017) OnePeterFive

Catholicism values silence. While we have magnificent music for our liturgies, awesome homilies, prayers we say out loud at Mass or together in the recitation of the rosary and so on, we also place importance on a tradition of silence.

There is a hauntingly beautiful and ancient hymn called “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” It is derived from the “Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn” from the Litany of St. James, written in the 4th Century. It’s first verse says:

“Let all mortal flesh keep silence/ And with fear and trembling stand/ Ponder nothing earthly-minded/ For with blessing in his hand/ Christ our God to earth descendeth/ Our full homage to demand.”

The hymn advises silence in the presence of the Lord, who brings us blessings but rightfully demands that we give Him our full attention and respect when we pray. As every teacher has admonished her students, “You can’t listen while you talk!”

The Value of Silence : Musings From the Pew(APRIL 29, 2022) Lois Kerschen Patheos Catholic

Or the Same Person Writes More Than One Place

There is more to Christmas than just Christ’s birth. It serves as the beginning of an epic, and Advent is the prologue whereby we prepare for the first spellbinding chapter. Some of the lesser known Christmas carols capture this stark freshness, like the sting of the winter air on our cheeks. For me, English carols hold the deepest resonance, seeming to rise from ancient mist, and rain, and soil, and sea. It is freshness of light piercing dark for the first time, of song piercing the silence, and the sky being rent by angel trumpets and an infant’s wail. It is the town crier making his rounds: “Past 3 o’clock, and a cold frosty morning! Past 3 o’clock! Good morrow, masters, all!”
Avellina Balestri And Thy Word Broke Their Swords: The Depth of Christmas (December 19, 2016} One Peter Five.com

Avellina Balestri And Thy Words Broke Their Swords: The Empowering Depth and Dimension of Christmas (December 25, 2020) Patheos Catholic

If your brother/sister who sees you as a heretic writes a hit piece on what a modernist piece of trash you are, write a piece on something good they have contributed to Catholic culture. If you can find it. Why miss an opportunity to heap burning coals on their inflammatory writings? Overcome evil slander with finding something charitable about that person. But sometimes rebuke is necessary. I don’t write hit pieces on other Catholics or groups no matter how much I think their writing is the equivalent of metaphysical puke. I might however write a strong criticism of someone if their causing a lot of mischief in the Catholic world such as Fr. James Altman.

What are people starving for, Fr. Altman? JUNE 22, 2021
Does Wanting To Throw the Pope Into The Sea Make You A More Loving Catholic? SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Satish Joseph@FrSatishJoseph: The best way for me to understand the Father James Altman phenomenon is a thought from Pope Francis in “Let Us Dream.” In it, @Pontifex refers to “the selective morality of ideology.” Father Altman’s morality is based on a far-right ideology and not on the Gospel. Hence…Fr Altman’s skewed convictions about race, women, Catholicism, vaccines, and everything else. Father Altman is not insincere about his faith and social convictions. But his morality is misplaced. Totally misplaced.

Now that I’ve covered the types of Catholics I like to write about with a particular focus on the good aspects of those I’m not too fond of, I am moving on to

Catholics I’ve Written About

that I am actually fond about.

And these are Catholics whose writing is top tier excellence.

At least in my estimation.

Which is why I wrote about them.

BCCT

catholic authors

Previous Post

October 16, 2023

Praying For Peace In the Middle East -LWIL # 41

Next Post

October 23, 2023 3rd Order Promises LWIL # 42

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1889 abortion adoption Advent After Life Angles apologetics Art Awards BCCT bible book review books business Carmelite Catechetics Catholic Actors catholic authors Catholic Bard Catholic Faith Catholic List Catholic Rigorous Vortex Christian Authors Christmas church teaching civil conversation coronavirus Current Events death Different Religions Divine Mercy Easter Education encouragment Entertainment Eucharist Evangelization Event faith Family Life famous people feast day food Fun Stuff Global Church God guest post Harry Potter healing Heck of a Ride Around the Sun history holiday Holy Family Holy Orders Holy Spirit Holy Week hope Humor Interview Ireland Jesus kindle unlimited reflections Last Things Lecto Divina with Kristin Lent Lent/Easter liturgy love marriage Mary Meet the Author Mission Month in Advance Movie Review Movies Movies of the Month Music Narrative Older Writings patheos authors personal Philosophy podcasts poetry political Politics pope prayer Private Revelation pro-life public domain Quotes racial relations racism reflection Religious Life Saints science Scriptural Meditation social justice Social Media spirituality suffering supernatural theology Topics Travel Trivia Tweeting to the Choir Uncategorized universal church Vatican virtue war Week in Review women world religions writing Writing Write Now

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian tradition celebrates "Holy Week," including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Many (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican) Only Baptists Only Quakers Only Pentecostals

Books by This Author Books by Catholic Bard

See All Titles »