Randall B. Smith

Randall Smith is Professor of Theology at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas. He is also a Research Fellow in the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas in Austin.  He writes regularly for The Catholic Thing, and his latest book is From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality, and the Resurrection of the Body (Emmaus).

Articles by Randall B. Smith

Eucharistic Faith and the Design of Churches

Some readers may have noticed that the Catholic Church has been striving the past few years to restore belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Beauty is Necessary for Prayer

Our situation today shows that beauty demands for itself at least as much courage and decision as do truth and goodness, and she will not allow herself to be separated and banned from her two sisters without taking them along with herself in an act of mysterious vengeance.

Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries?

An American physician and native New York Catholic by the name of James Joseph Walsh once published a wonderful little book entitled Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries, in which he extolled the virtues of that bygone era. There were indeed many such virtues, but as the great French philosopher and medievalist Étienne Gilson is reported to have once said about the Middle Ages: “I love studying them, but I’m glad I didn’t have to live in them.”

Don’t Blame Vatican II

Many people seem to think that contemporary Catholic church architecture is so ugly because of misunderstandings that arose from the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.