John Paul Manfredi is a husband, father, and theology teacher living in the Bay Area where he currently teaches at Marin Catholic College Preparatory. John Paul has a BA from Notre Dame de Namur University and an MA in theology from the University of Notre Dame. When not spending time with his family or teaching, John Paul enjoys reading Joseph Ratzinger and CS Lewis, Italian food, red wine, and coiffing his beard.
Christmas is just about here and if you’re like me you’ve been doing your best to focus on the season of Advent and the preparation of your heart and home for the coming of God into our world as the Infant Christ, so buying gifts for everybody else has taken a backseat (except for you honey, …
On May 13, 2004 Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger addressed the Italian Senate on the current state of the West. In his analysis he addressed the issues of moral and cultural relativism, loss of religious identity and practice, and the spread of radical Islam, among others. Ratzinger, in his usual precision and expertise, diagnosed the West, specifically …
13 Truth Bombs from Ratzinger and Pera’s “Without Roots” Read More »
In his address to Congress, Pope Francis highlighted four Americans who represented great American ideals: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton. Day and Merton were both Catholics who lived the Gospel message in a radical way. This got me thinking: there are a lot of American Catholics in our nation’s …
7 American Catholics You Don’t Know About But Should Read More »
During my time as a youth minister, I learned a great deal about myself, teenagers today, evangelization, and faith in general. I walked away from my experience (I’m now a full-time high school theology teacher) with a deeper appreciation for how difficult it is to live a life of faith in our world today. The …
There’s a patron saint for just about every profession, hobby, and craft out there and thank goodness there is! We could all use a little saintly help now and again, no matter what you love to do. Here are 8 patron saints for 8 things we all love. 1. The Internet – St. Isidore of …