Here’s my latest article for Catholic Answers. Enjoy!  Many of us celebrated Labor Day recently by taking some well-deserved time off before the back-to-school, back-to-work, back-to-reality September rush kicked in. But some of the chatter over Labor Day barbecues was actually a cultural conversation about the dignity of work—all thanks to an attempted public shaming that […]

Today, August 15, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, celebrating that God raised the Virgin Mary, body and soul, to the glories of heaven at the end of her earthly journey. Here are four quick facts you need to know about this teaching of the Church on this: 1. Catholics must believe this […]

(My latest for Catholic Answers Magazine.) When were the Gospels written? You might respond with a question of your own: “Who cares?” Or, “Why does it matter?” Here’s one reason why: some skeptics are claiming that the Gospels are unreliable accounts of Jesus’ life because they were written too long after the fact. They then […]

My latest for Catholic Answers Magazine. Once, in Jerusalem, I was privileged to attend Mass with a group of Catholics who had converted from Judaism and celebrated the Mass in Hebrew. None of those present who had come to believe in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) would have said they had “changed religions.” They didn’t […]

Here’s my latest piece for Catholic Answers. Hope you enjoy it. — Cale Every Easter season we encounter articles, documentaries, books, and news reports suggesting that the canonical Gospels got the Resurrection wrong. Scholars with impressive credentials appear in the media to tell us that, if we want the full story about Easter, we must […]

Neil MacCarthy, Comms director for the Archdiocese of Toronto, writing in the Huffington Post in part about the “Sweet Jesus” ice cream store controversy: In speaking with clarity and charity, Cardinal Collins regularly reminds us that the name of Jesus and sacred symbols of Christianity hold great meaning for the faithful. He would have told Sweet […]

This is my latest piece for Catholic Answers. Have a Blessed Triduum and a very Happy and Holy Easter! During this sacred Triduum and during Easter, as we commemorate Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, it is not unusual for us to come across challenges—online, through the media, in our conversations with unbelievers—to the historical truth […]

Note: This is my latest Article for Catholic Answers Magazine (Online Edition). Hope you enjoy it and find it educational! Perhaps you’ve noticed one of the many stories about the Dead Sea Scrolls that have appeared recently (like this one), trumpeting the decoding of one of the two remaining undeciphered Dead Sea Scrolls. An Ancient “Calendar App” […]

  Note: Here’s my January piece for Catholic Answers Magazine. Hope you enjoy it!  Monday’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marked the official end of the Christmas season. It’s also an annual occasion for many to ask, “Why was Jesus baptized?” After all, he is the sinless, divine Son of God, and the […]

Today, December 8, marks the great Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. And it’s certainly a doctrine misunderstood by many. The Immaculate Conception is not the Virginal Conception of Jesus. Nor does it have anything to do with this, sports fans. Here’s the actual definition, from Blessed Pope Pius IX, the beloved “Pio Nono”: We […]

Happy All Saints Day, everyone! This feast was instituted to commemorate all the blessed in Heaven who don’t have their own particular feast day in the universal Church – after all, there are only 365 days in the year, and we’ve got a lot of saints! Now, everyone in Heaven is a saint, but we […]

Here’s my latest piece for Catholic Answers Magazine. Hope you enjoy this look at the big city next door to little Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown – and how it may have influenced him. My favorite basketball player growing up was the legendary Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics. The media (and Larry himself) liked to play […]

Note: This is my latest article for Catholic Answers Magazine. Hope you enjoy it! An Eyebrow-Raising Comment Perhaps you’ll recall back in February when the head of the Jesuit order, Fr. Arturo Sosa, cast doubt on the trustworthiness of the Gospels (in particular, Jesus’ teaching on divorce): There would have to be a lot of […]

Note: this is my latest article for Catholic Answers Magazine (online). You can read it at the CAMO site here.   As part of my graduate studies in New Testament, I had the opportunity to study in Israel and to work for two summers at an archaeological dig in Jerusalem. During my academic studies in […]

Check out this interview I did with Catholic Answers Live about Jesus, the Bible, and archaeology. There’s so much to cover here, and I feel like we only scratched the surface. This stuff is important, because it helps us authenticate the New Testament’s portrait of Jesus of Nazareth, and fleshes out our understanding of the […]

Q. This past Sunday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Why is this doctrine so important? A. There are many reasons, but most prominent among them is this: it’s who God is. God is a Trinity of Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is actually God’s “name”. […]

Q. This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Could you explain its background? A. When Pentecost arrives each year in the liturgical calendar, most Christians immediately think of the dramatic gift of the Holy Spirit poured out on the Church, Peter’s impassioned preaching, and the mass conversion occasioned by this event, as recorded in Acts 2. Many […]

It’s so very important for Christians to study the Old Testament. When learning the Scriptures, many people want to “skip to the good part” in their view. They want to go right to the end of the book, the New Testament, the part of the Bible that speaks directly of Jesus. This view is shortsighted […]

Note: This is my first article for Catholic Answers Magazine Online (or CAMO for short), and I hope you enjoy it. Catholic Answers is an organization I’ve long admired, and it has been a privilege getting to know the staff there over the past year, especially during the time I guest hosted Catholic Answers Live. […]

Q. This Easter season, how can I convince my friends that Jesus physically rose from the dead? It’s been especially difficult for me to do this because my friends are either a) not Christians, or b) they don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. They simply think it’s a merely human book that […]