One day last year around this time, my then-4-year-old daughter and I stopped by a local Catholic store to pick up a gift. As you can imagine in a Catholic store during Advent, there were several Nativities on display. While I was browsing the candles, Vaughn was enjoying the Nativity scenes. I noticed she was […]
On December 8, the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the British medical journal, The Lancet, published a most puzzling commentary, in which a clarion call is issued for the Catholic Church to provide all nuns with oral contraceptives in order to prevent cancer. Australian researchers Kara Britt and Roger Short make their recommendation based on the […]
We flew straight from Sweet Briar to London for Kate and Will’s wedding. I’m so glad I saved my garter — it was perfect for her! Speaking of perfect, what a grand excuse to hold Johnny’s 12th birthday at the London Zoo! Camilla graciously offered us her estate for the party but Johnny thought that […]
A Jubilee Year! You asked: Is Jubilee Duggar’s funeral creepy? Perhaps it’s creepy depending on whether or not it’s your fetus. Is holding the hand of your child creepy? The fact that Jubilee had passed on from Time into Eternity, means she’s a Saint. Is holding the hand of a Saint creepy? But: In a […]
Winter Morn A very pale Blue slate-gray, A puff of Powdered cloud. Glassed-limbs crackle Stiff with age Then snap – And boom quite loud. Tree trunks black In shrouds of ice – Branches split And splinter. November sleeps December wakes To the eternal Advent of winter! Hilary M. Flanery
In college, I majored in American Literature but took acting classes because I enjoyed the immediacy of theater. On stage everything happens in the moment. On a recent Sunday I was celebrating Mass and began the ceremony with the sign of the cross and then extended my hands to deliver the greeting: Grace to you […]
After years of discussion, preparation and anticipation, the new English translation of the Roman Missal – Third Edition was officially implemented in the United States on November 27th. The “reviews” are now starting to show up in newspapers, blogs and other media. As I read them, it seems as though most of the “people in […]
Every year I brace myself for winter. Knowing the air will turn crisp to cold, I whip out a cozy scarf, and as the sky dims and darkens, I store up on Vitamin D. The sun’s short stay and the often cloudy sky make afternoons feel more like early evenings. It’s dark, dark, dark! We […]
Tim Tebow has sure made the sports headlines as of late. The popular quarterback of the Denver Broncos, known for being unapologetic about his Christian faith (something I applaud, of course), has perplexed not a few sports commentators by his seemingly miraculous comeback-victories after struggling through three-and-a-half quarters of a game. I asked, via email, […]
As I sat in Mass, exhausted, just happy that I got there on time I realized that three candles were lit. Yes, the pink one, too. This rosy candle is supposed to tell us “Rejoice! Gaudete! Our Savior is almost here!” Instead, what I heard was, “Oh no! It’s almost Christmas and I still have […]
“Mystery,” he sneered. “That’s a good Catholic word.” My friend was a fundamentalist who had more than a bit of antipathy towards the Catholic Church, charging that it added to the simple faith of the Bible. But he didn’t read his bible very well. The word “mystery” is a Catholic word, only because it is […]
Rejoice Sunday–Third Sunday in Advent In this time of waiting, watching The cold December grays Are decorated with anticipation — Banquets of glad tidings, the earth miraculously Greened from watercourses flowing From the stars. Mary’s sumptuous Magnificat Followed by rounds of Gaudetes on monks’ lips and Priests processing in pink colored vestments. Then comes the […]
The problem many of us have with Christmas isn’t that we expect too much of it but that we expect much too little. My Christmas wish for all of us, myself included, is that we raise our sights and ask for all that God really wants to give us. If we can open ourselves to […]
[How would you live, Pompey? By being a bawd? What do you think of the trade, Pompey? Is it a lawful trade? —Escalus, Measure for Measure] Enforce morality. The answer to critics who so frequently question the role of the state in Distributism or Catholic Social Teaching is simple. Excepting those who prefer anarchy, libertarian “free market” advocates and […]
The Culture of Death reminds me of the dragon from the Book of Revelations; it is an “enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns” (NIV Rev 12:3). Two items in this week’s news reveal just how the Culture of Death masquerades as something supposedly good as it rears two of its ugly heads—the […]
If you have a sibling or more than one child, chances are that you have dealt with the ugly green monster that is sibling rivalry. In a perfect world, children born of the same parents or adopted into the same family would always love, honor, and respect each other. They would share without complaint, applaud […]
This is the season for Christian love and goodwill. Yet the air is polluted with the bombast of pro-aborts who never seem to stop spewing. These folks do not concern themselves with the true meaning of Christmas. Christ does not fit into their game plan—as recent comments from their choir make abundantly clear. The Harvard […]
Enduring One It can’t be called, but it must come As rain arrives when sleepers sleep And wake to hear the roaring of The river’s flood when it runs deep It can’t be named but it must speak The secret name, the unconfined Until itself reveals itself – The naming of it is not mine […]
As you probably know, the so-called “healthcare reform” legislation known as “ObamaCare” – which was narrowly passed by Congress (and only after intense pressure tactics from the White House) – is now facing its toughest challenge ever. It’s being challenged in court over the constitutionality of its key provision of requiring every U.S. citizen to […]
I have not been shy in my criticism of Muslim extremists who hate Israel and equally loathe the United States. Nor have I been reluctant to condemn Islamism: Sharia law is totalitarian. Furthermore, I am not opposed to boycotting sponsors of TV shows that bash Catholicism (I have led such initiatives). But count me out […]
During the season of Advent the readings at Mass include passages about John the Baptist, the humble inhabitant of the Judean desert who possessed nothing but the truth and owed no one but the God who created him. He was fearless in his preaching. He discomfited all in their complacency, but to all he gave […]
Do you feel that you are dating someone who strikes you as having an overly high moral, education, or even cultural standard? Do you feel like your every action is being observed? Is the person overly critical of you? Are they quick to find fault in you but not in themselves? Do they make you […]
“No matter your thoughts about the Occupy Wall Street movement, the protesters were right in at least one respect: The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.” Variations on this statement were repeated in dozens of blogs, commentaries, and even news reports in the past months. The claim comes via a Congressional […]
To celebrate the DVD release of *Dolphin Tale, Grace Hill Media, a company that promotes quality entertainment for faith-based audiences, has graciously provided five DVDs to be given away to Catholic Lane readers. Details are provided at the end of this article. As a freelance writer who reviews family movies, I often have the opportunity […]
