The Narthex
Why a Sheepfold and Why a Gate?
Christ leads His sheep. He does not expect His sheep to 'discern' paths on their own
By John M. Grondelski | May 1st 2026 7:45 PMWriting about the Gospel for this past Sunday, Fr. Paul Scalia pointed out something we might be prone to overlook: Jesus describes Himself not as the “Good Shepherd” but as the “sheep gate.” “I am the gate for the sheep… Whoever enters through me will be saved and will come…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #20
Dressing to the Zeroes... Stealing from the Dead... Polish-American Contributions... more
By John M. Grondelski | February 21st 2025 3:20 PMDressing to the Zeroes Once upon a time, being “dressed to the nines” meant being dressed to perfection, with distinction. It was expected in public, including many places today’s Americans would no longer expect. When I went to college in the late 1970s, my primary way home was by airplane:…
READ FULL BLOG POSTFrancis's Immigration Letter
The Pope's missive to U.S. bishops raises some ecclesiological questions
By John M. Grondelski | February 17th 2025 1:06 PMMuch of Pope Francis’s February 10 letter to the Catholic bishops in the United States centered on its subject: immigration. I focused on that in my first take, which addressed how to define “dignity,” what were the letter’s potential long-term implications, and how ordo amoris could be understood in ways…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #18
Romanian Rain on Francis’s Common Easter Parade... Is the Vatican Tone-Deaf?... and more
By John M. Grondelski | February 6th 2025 1:11 PMRomanian Rain on Francis’s Common Easter Parade Pope Francis’s idea of launching a “common Easter” hit a road block when the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania voiced objections. His primary objection was exactly the condition Vatican II set 61 years ago in the long-dormant appendix to Sacronsanctum Concilium that Francis wants…
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