Francis X. Maier

History never repeats itself. But patterns of human thought and behavior repeat themselves all the time. That’s why the past has so many lessons for the present. One of them is this: Every society has an elite leadership class, no matter how well disguised. That includes democracies. It thus includes our own.

So how do we fix things? How do we restore what we once had? Well, the truth is, maybe we can’t. Maybe that shouldn’t be our main focus. There’s no quick fix for problems we behaved ourselves into. But as Christians, we can at least change our thinking and our actions.

A sort of revival is coming: a “second religiousness,” renaissance, or recommitment to inherited civilizational principles. History would strongly suggest something like this is now on the horizon.

“But he channeled a widespread fear that America, as traditionally remembered and understood, is being stolen by a gang of thieves.”

We’ve forgotten who we are; what our baptism means; what a genuinely Catholic life invites and requires. So, what we can do now? What do we need to do now?

Airports harbor interesting stories. Here’s an example. On my way home from a speaking engagement recently, I spent time with…

Having criticized the Washington Post for its March 9 hit-job on the unpleasant but revealing work of Catholic Laity and…

There is a new kind of intolerance “strangling open discussion across the West,” and this new brand of intolerance is linked closely with the sexual revolution.

The priesthood, just like the laity, is peopled by humans; and humans are creatures with flaws.

All those we love, and we ourselves, will one day go through that great black door of death. We need to acknowledge that fact and not try to evade or soften it. Without God, life really is a tragedy, and our mourning is a meaningless biochemical reaction. But our story doesn’t end there. The door has another side: a side of light, with a waiting, loving God.

The father who says he likes being tough on his kids is a liar. Fathers want to be loved, and too often they’re lonely.

Bronwen McShea’s new book, La Duchesse captures with vivid grace and detail the life of one of the most important, if unheralded, women in French history.