For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.” The wrath […]
It has occurred to me that Europe doesn’t give a damn if Greece goes down. The EU concern is not for Greece, but for all the banks that lent all those Euros to Athens and now stand to lose them. The cradle of Western Civilization is expendable, but the vaults of the bankers must be […]
What does Occupy Wall Street want? Last week GOP Presidential candidate, Herman Cain stated, “nobody knows what their cause is. How are you going to assist them with a cause when you don’t know what the cause is?” Well, I’m not sure about the representativeness of the signs carried at camp-outs and marches during Occupy […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Malachi 1:14–2:2,8-10; Psalm 131:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9,13; Matthew 23:1-12) The Second Coming of Christ Our Source of Hope and Encouragement We who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Apparently, some of the first-century Christians in […]
What a myopic view the Western media and its array of “experts” have concerning the so-called “Arab Spring” — a myopia that naturally metastasizes among the general public. Consider the Libyan crisis. As usual, the focus is entirely on the individual, on the tangible — the now dead Gaddafi — whom all the blame can […]
Many people admire Martin Luther (1483-1546) for his defiance of Church authority in the name of religious freedom. The idea is that Luther stood up to overbearing Church leaders who were no more than pagans in disguise. Luther freed us from unlawful intrusion in the area of conscience, which is supposed to be left to […]
I was privileged this afternoon [written October 26] to spend time with Sister Margherita Marchione, the so-called “fighting nun,” who has spent 50 years battling to defend the truth about the life and activity of Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, during the time of the Second World War. Sister Margherita, who […]
ALL HALLOW’S EVE On All Hallow’s Eve Doth blow the leave Bare branches Bend down to the ground. Children believe And simply conceive There’s evil And it’s all around. So pumpkins all lit Trick or treat just a bit All costumed they Go through the town. They face with much wit Tell jokes that do […]
The king of love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am his, and he is mine forever. -From “The King of Love my Shepherd Is” by Henry Williams Baker Marriage is an image of Christ and His bride, the Church. It is a sanctuary for love, for the bringing […]
The United States has 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners – and clear evidence of a wrongful conviction problem. No one can watch the Oscar-winning 1993 film, The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, without rooting for Dr. Richard Kimball. We empathize with this skilled surgeon […]
I do not see ghosts; I only see their inherent probability – G. K. Chesterton. This is the season of ghosts. Halloween has been co-opted as a secular holiday, poised to overtake Christmas in terms of commercial sales, and distorted in many cases into a grotesque and diabolical celebration of the macabre and ugly. While […]
October Feast Day In the gold mouth Of the morning I knead the bread From wheat. Mix broccoli, bacon In wooden bowl Add raisins Sugared sweet. A Burgundy wine From His own grape Marinating beef Will seep. Then later boil Egg noodles, white Pile in a Buttered heap. Chocolate cake Oh what a gift Miraculous […]
“The Lord’s Resistance Army continues to terrorize the population. People are afraid.” This was the declaration of a local Catholic leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rt. Rev. Julien Andavo Mbia, Bishop of Isiro-Niangara, described the dire situation of his countrymen and -women in the north-western region of the Democratic Republic of the […]
What comes to mind when you hear the word “parenting?” Perhaps being attentive, nurturing, caring, loving and wanting what’s best for a child. But what happens when parents’ good intentions go awry? Take the case of Thomas Lobel: Thomas was adopted by same-sex couple Pauline Moreno and Debra Lobel when he was 2 years old.[1] […]
I wish, as I first read the article by Marybeth Hicks, “Some Belated Parental Advice to Protestors”, that I had stayed calm long enough to read the blurb after the article and to realize that it was actually written for the Washington Times, not for a Catholic publication. I only realized this when I read James […]
Many Christians portray salvation as a simple affair: We are saved, they declare, by faith alone. The all-important role of faith is indeed Scriptural. It was emphasized especially by Saint Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes; to […]
In “The Wild One,” Marlin Brando plays Johnny, a leather-jacketed vagabond sporting a black-brim hat perched on his head at a rakish angle, below which lurk piercing dark eyes and a sneer of contempt in answer to the question, “What are you rebelling against?” Brando states simply, “Whaddaya got?” An answer like this was provided […]
A hundred and fifty years before Christ, they were the good guys. The Greeks were in charge and decided that, if they were to unify their kingdom politically, they needed to unify it religiously. So they imposed Greek ways on the Jews, including worshiping idols and eating pork. You can read about the Jew’s military […]
When it comes to political crookedness and graft, Louisiana is infamous. The New York Times just profiled Edwin Edwards, whose reputation earned him the nickname “Fast Eddie.” The former governor of the Pelican State recently released after a 10-year prison sentence for racketeering naturally wants back in the political ring. A resident displayed the love […]
Man’s Best Friend …for Octoberfest A man’s best friend If you please Is not a dog But cheddar cheese. A cheese whose taste Runs sharp or mellow Why cheese with beer Can help a fellow And make him look Like a handsome hunk When he passes some To a girl that’s drunk In the local […]
The call came after vespers. They had arrived. UPS confirmed delivery with a “quantum email.” Shouldn’t I go to the office and pick them up right now? No, I decided. Not tonight. Wait until morning and relish the delicious anticipation, like a kid waiting until morning to see what Santa Claus left beneath the Christmas […]
A DC-area legal activist has filed a federal human rights complaint against the Catholic University of America (CUA) for acting “probably with malice” against Muslim students for having Catholic imagery in all of its rooms that would hinder Muslim prayer – though the school says it has never heard a complaint from the students themselves. […]
Chapter 7 Mary’s Sinless State When Adam and Eve disobeyed, condemning their descendants to sin and death, God revealed His plan to redeem mankind through the mystery of the Incarnation. In His divine wisdom God decided to be born of a woman. This extraordinary woman He had selected before all time to be His Mother […]
[U]ntil we account for the knowledge which an infant has of his mother . . ., what reason have we to take exception at the doctrine, as strange and difficult, that in the dictate of conscience, without previous experiences or analogical reasoning, he is able gradually to perceive the voice, or the echoes of the […]
