Archive for April, 2011

Did Somebody Just Make it All Up?
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Did Somebody Just Make it All Up?

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The Gospels tell an incredible story.  A virginal conception.  Miraculous healings.  Even people coming back from the dead.  How are we to know that it’s not all just a fanciful fabrication? There is much evidence for the reliability of the Gospels, but here is one of the strongest bits of evidence I know.  Think for […]

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May Blossoms, Part One

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It already started, you know. The hoopla over Mother’s Day is well underway. In the next several days, the greeting card companies, florists, and chocolate manufacturers will do their best to make us feel like villains if we don’t get our mother something sweet and sentimental for “her” day. At least, of course, we’d better […]

Entering the Promised Land
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Entering the Promised Land

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“From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or […]

The Fount of Divine Mercy
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The Fount of Divine Mercy

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“I thirst.” In these, the shortest of the last seven words of Christ on the Cross, one sees evidence of the Lord’s physical suffering as His precious Body – beaten and bloodied for our transgressions – paradoxically approached death as He hung parched upon the Tree of Life. In order to grasp at the deeper […]

Thank You JP II
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Thank You JP II

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Millionaires in America
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Millionaires in America

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Recently, CNN’s Money.com posted an article bearing the title, “U.S. Millionaires Population Expanded by 8 Percent in 2010.” According to the article, there are now approximately 8.4 million millionaires in the United States, and last year’s increase was due primarily to rising stock prices, following a 27-percent decline in the number of millionaires in 2008 […]

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The Not-So-Simple Simple Prayer

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Did you know that prayer doesn’t mean having to stop everything and getting out a book, or having to come up with something formally well-rounded that makes sense?  Did you know that prayer is as simple as talking to your next-door neighbor (not that anyone does that anymore) or a co-worker?  Absolutely!  For the most part off-the-cuff conversations with […]

Is the Party Over?
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Is the Party Over?

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Let’s not kid ourselves: The policy train in American government has largely been driven by powerful special interests.  These enterprises invest enormous amounts of time and money in political campaigns in order to ensure that their agenda is advanced on Capitol Hill.  Over the years, particular interests have become allied with particular parties, becoming entrenched […]

Appeals Court Lifts Research Ban on Embryonic Stem Cells
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Appeals Court Lifts Research Ban on Embryonic Stem Cells

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The U.S. Appeals Courts for Washington D.C. has given the green light for the destruction of human embryonic stem cells for research purposes.  The action overturns an injunction placed by a federal judge, last August, who ruled such destruction violated Congressional spending laws, in place since the 1990’s. It was a 2-1 decision and a […]

The Beatification of John Paul II: The Vatican Prepares
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The Beatification of John Paul II: The Vatican Prepares

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The greatest fear now is… the weather. Because the weather reports on Friday afternoon in Rome say that there will be light rain Saturday night, and light rain showers on Sunday morning. And if there is rain, everything about this historic beatification, which is shutting down all auto traffic in the entire area around St. […]

A Royally Happy Outcome
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A Royally Happy Outcome

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Looking like the princess that she is, the lovely Catherine Middleton today became the wife of Prince William. It was a wedding that had the attention of people the world over. I watched the beautiful ceremony with my daughters this morning, enjoying the vestiges of Catholicism still quite boldly present, such as the occasional use […]

<em>Prayer in the Digital Age</em> -- An Interview with Matt Swaim
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Prayer in the Digital Age — An Interview with Matt Swaim

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Matt Swaim is one of my favorite authors. For me this is an easily quantifiable statement. It is important that when I pick up a book I learn something new, am given a new insight or dimension on something that I already know or in some way am edified. Swaim delivers on all counts. Matt’s […]

The JP2 Generation Tells Its Story: Part Eight, Fr. Edward Lohse
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The JP2 Generation Tells Its Story: Part Eight, Fr. Edward Lohse

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Presented in cooperation with Greg Schlueter and JP2Journey.com: The JP2 Generation Tells Its Story, remembering World Youth Day 2002 and the impact of Pope John II. Part Eight, Fr. Edward Lohse The final day of World Youth Day 2002 began, in a manner of speaking, without our really having noticed it.   Midnight arrived, and Saturday […]

Help Stop This Notorious Late-Term Abortionist!
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Help Stop This Notorious Late-Term Abortionist!

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Does the name LeRoy Carhart mean anything to you? It should. Carhart is an infamous late-term abortionist (among a dwindling number in America). He gained notoriety when he used to routinely kill babies alongside the notorious Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas. Carhart specializes in late-term abortions. Why, even a famous U.S. Supreme Court case […]

What is the Church's Teaching Role in Bioethics?
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What is the Church’s Teaching Role in Bioethics?

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When God created Adam and Eve, he placed them in a garden and blessed them. He told them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that move on the earth” (Gen 1:28). The Catholic Church […]

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St. Peter, Martyr

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IN 1205 the glorious martyr Peter was born at Verona of heretical parents. He went to a Catholic school, and his Manichean uncle asked what he learnt. “The Creed,” answered Peter; “I believe in God, Creator of heaven and earth.” No persuasion could shake his faith, and at fifteen he received the habit from St. […]

<em>Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil</em> – A Conversation with the Director
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Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil – A Conversation with the Director

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You don’t have an invite to the Royal Wedding and can’t make the beatification of John Paul II this weekend?  Well, all is not lost. You can still salvage your weekend by going to see Hoodwinked Too, Hood vs. Evil. And thanks to this article on Catholic Lane, you can enjoy the show even more knowing […]

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St. Vitalis, Martyr

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ST. VITALIS was a citizen of Milan, and is said to have been the father of Sts. Gervasius and Protasius. The divine providence conducted him to Ravenna, where he saw a Christian named Ursicinus, who was condemned to lose his head for his faith, standing aghast at the sight of death, and seeming ready to […]

What Are We Sacrificing for Another Government Fix?
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What Are We Sacrificing for Another Government Fix?

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I could not help but investigate our news story proclaiming that the USCCB had made a major new commitment to helping the unemployed. Will the American Church extend its charitable activities to provide as never before for those who are unable to find work? Actually, no. Instead, what the USCCB is doing is collaborating with an organization […]

Comic: No Voice in the World
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Comic: No Voice in the World

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“Dad’s Not Catholic. So Why Should I Be?”

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I surprised our son one day. He was preparing for his Confirmation, and I felt it was important to have a heart-to-heart talk. I explained that while he will still need instruction in the Faith, that, in fact, it would become his responsibility to open his heart to the catechism and take it seriously. It was […]

The Beatification of Pope John Paul II: When the Wall Fell
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The Beatification of Pope John Paul II: When the Wall Fell

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It’s fitting that the beatification of Pope John Paul II will take place on Divine Mercy Sunday.  His very presence on the global stage exemplified Divine Mercy. There have been 265 popes in the life of the Church. Eighty-one of them are saints. On May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday, God willing, Pope Benedict XVI will […]

Response to Media on Characterizing Those who Oppose Abortion
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Response to Media on Characterizing Those who Oppose Abortion

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There’s no shortage of morons and scoundrels in the world, on almost every side of almost every issue.  But some of them operate by painting a background which so colors the dialogue that it is almost impossible even to communicate opinions successfully.  Here’s an offer: You can say the hateful morons represent the anti-abortion culture […]

Good Friday in Iraq
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Good Friday in Iraq

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A curfew failed to deter Christians in Mosul, who walked for up to an hour to attend a packed Good Friday service in one of Iraq’s most dangerous cities Archbishop Amil Nona of Mosul presided at the liturgy at St. Paul’s Chaldean Church which people reached on foot after a curfew on cars and other […]