Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 132

How Do We Know It’s the True Church?

Here is an archived article from Catholic Answers. The article examines the different aspects of the church and why Catholicism is the fullness of the Christian faith. I already had read and pretty much accepted the Scriptural support for the Petrine ministry in the Church. I also had come to understand and value the four-fold [Read More...]

Fr DL on Path to Rome

Here is a vintage Path to Rome episode. Marcus had me on the show when I was still living in England and on a trip Stateside. I’m younger, leaner, clean shaven, not ordained a priest yet and I have an awful English accent.      

Church of Nice or Church of Nasty?

Some Catholics talk disparagingly of the “Church of Nice” They are referring to the modernist church where indifferentism, complacency and tolerance replace the truly Christian virtues. They object not to niceness, but to a church that is nothing but nice. I’m with them. I can’t stand watered down religion. Modernist Christianity has eviscerated the gospel, [Read More...]

FaithWorks! – 33

Here is the link to this week’s FaithWorks! free weekly newsletter. Use the sign up button in the right sidebar if you would like to receive it by email each week.  

Pius V – A Prophetic Papacy

In this article for Crisis, published over a year ago Jared Staudt comments on the significance of Pope Pius V for the present papacy. On the eve of Francis’ election Staudt’s infant son kept taking down from the bookshelf a biography of Pius V. Staudt re read the book wondering if the conclave would produce [Read More...]

Jesus Says Love Your Enemy….But What If He’s a Muslim Terrorist?

Over bacon and eggs I quizzed the fifteen year old, “So let me ask you.  Our Lord says we must love our enemies. What if that enemy is a fanatical Muslim who is ready to cut off your head?” Slurping the orange juice, “Well, you’re supposed to hate the sin and love the sinner.” “Do [Read More...]

Fasting on Fridays and Spiritual Warfare

As a young priest I used to fast on Fridays. This was  a complete fast. Nothing but water from after supper on Thursday until breakfast on Saturday. It took a couple of weeks to get used to it, but once my system was engaged in the new routine it wasn’t so difficult. I took on [Read More...]

Is Dialogue a Dirty Word?

Here is my latest contribution to National Catholic Register. For many Catholics, “dialogue” is a dirty word. In their minds, it’s code for the kinds of ecumenism and interfaith relations that emphasize similarities and dismiss differences. “Dialogue” means “we’re all climbing the same mountain, which is God — but we’re on different paths” or “dogma [Read More...]

Who is the False Prophet of the End Times?

I was brought up in a Protestant church steered by dispensationalist theology. The preachers loved to study the Biblical books of prophecy almost like fortune tellers to try to predict the future. They tried to read the Biblical books of prophecy in one hand and yesterday’s paper in the other. That process never yields very [Read More...]

Little Red Riding Hood in Rotherham

Fairy tales are timeless because they are true. They tell tales of horror, betrayal, violence, rape and human depravity because children of all ages need to confront such horrors. They are timeless because they unlock the hidden truths in everyday life. They apply because they expose every day idiocies and human failures, foibles and foolishness. [Read More...]