Theodore Roosevelt’s great image of politics as a kaleidoscope hardly captures the present pandemonium over Herman Cain’s alleged sexual misdeeds. For a Republican primary, usually a pretty button-down affair, this is pretty steamy stuff. Compared to Bill Clinton’s escapades-proven, admitted and forgiven by his wife, Hillary — this matter is still in the realm of […]
In the prayer known as the Confiteor (which begins, “I confess to almighty God…”), the new translation cultivates a more humble, sorrowful attitude toward God as we confess our sins and accept responsibility for our wrongdoings. Instead of simply saying, “I have sinned through my own fault,” as was done in the old translation, we […]
Chapter 8 Was Mary Rebuked by Jesus? Those who read the Holy Scriptures without any knowledge of biblical languages, sometimes fall into serious misinterpretations of the text. One good example of such misunderstandings is “Jesus’ rebuke of Mary” at the time of the wedding in Cana of Galilee. Was Jesus ever disrespectful of his mother? […]
Coach Jerry Sandusky, the now notorious pedophile, and his boss, coach Joe Paterno, have some Catholic background. Paterno played football for a Catholic high school in New York. The New York Times states that Paterno is a “practicing Catholic.” The most I could ascertain about Sandusky is that his paternal grandparents emigrated from Poland. To […]
De Profundis Every Sacrament I could… Immersed my soul In graces good. Every penance That I uttered In fear and trepidation Shuddered. Every child I birthed in pain I offered Him So souls would gain. And now my soul In night won’t cease For you my prayers… De Profundis. Hilary M. Flanery
Although Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been embraced by some as an ideal presidential candidate for mainstream social conservatives, he has at least one strong critic in conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, who says his tax plan would damage society by undermining marriage. In an op-ed for Creators.com, Schlafly wrote that the governor’s 20 percent “flat-tax” […]
Liberals are nervous. They should be. As the 2012 election grows closer a soft rumble builds throughout thousands of Evangelical Christian churches across America. Pastors and churchgoers alike are waking up to the disturbing reality that we as a nation have strayed drastically from our historical Judeo-Christian moorings. Though many may try, none can honestly […]
I’ve long been confused by the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42. It reads: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what […]
In What Way do you Know of Death? He said: There is no afterlife, no God I asked him for his date of birth His time of death He knew when he was born On the basis of authority For he did not have full sentience then But as for when he dies He says: […]
October, the month of the rosary and the Pro-life Rosary Campaign, is over. Forty Days for Life has just ended. Things will quiet down until January with the various state marches and the National March for Life. There will be various prayer vigils before the march. In the spring there will be a new Forty […]
This week’s episode of Fox Television’s prime-time musical comedy show Glee featured two teenage couples, one heterosexual and one homosexual, engaging in sex for the first time. Titled “The First Time,” the episode depicted two couples – a young man and woman, Finn and Rachel, and two young men, Kurt and Blaine – each losing […]
The question posed in the title might itself be somewhat problematic, since “conservatism” is not one thing, but a rich and often contentious variety of positions. Nevertheless, a sufficiently large portion of conservatism marries a social and religious traditionalism with a more or less pure capitalism. But is this a suitable marriage? For what we […]
[On Monday], the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held a press conference in front of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to bring attention to a case involving an Episcopal priest, Bede Parry, who is being charged with molesting young boys while he was […]
For a religion that is perpetually “misunderstood,” the consistency of Islam is remarkable. Consider how ostensibly diverse issues—complaints of “human rights” abuses at an American university and murder in an Egyptian classroom—are interconnected. First, the American story. According to Fox News: The Washington, D.C. Office of Human Rights confirmed that it is investigating allegations that […]
Chance I’ve heard some men of a wiser lot Assert the premise that all was naught; That man and woman, bird and beast Were plucked by chance, and by chance deceased. That life is chance, and a chance but one, So live it up before you’re done. But might I chance to question them, Haven’t […]
What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is […]
The Arab upheavals of 2011 have inspired wildly inconsistent Western responses. How, for example, can one justify abiding the suppression of dissidents in Bahrain while celebrating dissidents in Egypt? Or protect Libyan rebels from government attacks but not their Syrian counterparts? Oppose Islamists taking over in Yemen but not in Tunisia? Such ad hockery reflects […]
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth (Isaiah 53:7). Perhaps the most stunning revelation of Christianity is the deep humility of God. In Jesus of […]
Rosie grabbed my arm as I walked into Mass one weekday morning. Whispering in a hushed tone she asked: “Can you help me measure the candle? I can’t reach the top of it to measure it. I was helping to set up for a funeral, and I dropped the candle and broke the glass that […]
The other day, I was half-jokingly trying to talk my friends into doing a reality show about homeschooling moms. Unfortunately, they weren’t buying the idea. As one put it, “I’d much rather have people believe the myth.” The Sept/Oct 2011 issue of the HSLDA Home School Court Report features an article by Michael O. Farris […]
It’s almost here! The new Mass — from the revised Roman Missal — is coming November 27, so we should not just get prepared but excited too. I do admit, however, that I have a preference to stick with what I already know. For instance, every new computer program and most of the technology in my world, […]
Why do I act shocked every time the stores pull out the Christmas merchandise before I’ve purchased Halloween candy (which has been sharing shelf space with the Back to School supplies since August)? Why do I let it gross me out year after year? I know it’s going to happen. But still…. I wandered into […]
Beautiful Irish Catholic actress and mother Roma Downey has produced a new series of DVDs for children called Little Angels. I recently interviewed Roma about the new series, her favorite charity and her devotion to the Blessed Mother. To celebrate the release of Little Angels, Grace Hill Media, a company that promotes quality entertainment for faith-based […]
Adoration A mass of people on a plain All those who live and ever lived Face the everlasting A plain of such immense extent That souls from the beginning to the end Will not fill it all Around them and behind them Refulgence of the everlasting Fills eternity We who faced the light-creating sun The […]
