Blog
The Secular Versus Catholic View of the Human Person
University of Notre Dame's Professor Carter Snead explains the secular versus Catholic view of the human person. Professor Snead answers questions such as "What is a person? and "What is the fundamental disagreement between the Catholic and secular view in social...
Is Free Will an Illusion?
One of the exciting developments in the field of neuroscience is the use of neuroimaging to examine the precise neural pathways and brain regions involved in many cognitive activities, including learning, memory storage and retrieval, and even those involved in making...
What is Time? Part IV: Relativity and Time
“What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.” -St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Chapter 11 Introduction This is the fourth in a series of articles on the nature of time. The first focused on...
Getting Back in the Habit of Mass
After an accusation was made against him during his confirmation process two years ago, Judge Brett Kavanaugh submitted his highly-detailed personal calendar from his high school days as exculpatory evidence. Some of his opponents noticed that “going to Mass” was not...
The Secret to Happiness: Living for Others
In this video clip, Fr. Spitzer describes level 3 happiness, the happiness of living for others. Level 3 happiness is so powerful that it even enabled Viktor Frankl, author of "Man's Search for Meaning," to survive a prisoner of war camp during WWII. This clip is...
Made in His Image: the Social Synapse and the Neurobiology of Connection
The news has featured human connectivity in seemingly endless variety lately—from discussing the negative effects of social distancing and quarantines on our mental health to the creative ways people are reaching out and staying in touch. Like it or not, the data is...
The Miracle that led to the Beatification of Blessed Conchita, Mystic and Mother
In 2006, a miraculous healing was attributed to a lay wife and mother from Mexico, Blessed Maria Concepcion Cabrera de Armida or, as most call her, Blessed Conchita. A foundress of lay and religious communities, Blessed Conchita was also a mystic whose desire for a...
Covid-19 Vaccines: Availability and Ethics
On a recent episode of Father Spitzer’s Universe, Father discussed the availability of a Covid-19 vaccine and the ethics of producing and utilizing a vaccine that has been developed using fetal cells from aborted babies. On April 17th, four USCCB committee chairmen...
New Insights on the Rise of the ‘Nones’
The United States is increasing in “Nones,” i.e, those who claim no religious affiliation. The latest Bulletin from the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST) contains some eye-opening insights on who the Nones are and what compels...
Made in God’s Image; or Are We?
One of the modern narratives is that science has knocked the human person off its pedestal. We are no longer seen as the pinnacle of creation, more important than other animals and meant to rule over the rest of creation. In fact, the idea of our being “made in the...
