Up until now, all has been quite humble. A donkey-ride to a dusty town south of Jerusalem. Hotel rooms all booked up. Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle. Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far-off […]
Leave it Behind I saw the cells of purgatory When I was a child, The menaces of royalty In stiff brocaded gold Stiff with unforgiving pain They moved out from their cells Where prisoners of hate remain Inside their narrow hells Underground along an aisle They reached out for a touch, A neediness which might […]
I live in Western Pennsylvania, just across the county line from where former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum grew up. My wife went to the same high school as Santorum. I’ve followed his career very closely. I’m surprised—but I’m not surprised—by Santorum’s performance in the Iowa Republican Caucus. I’m surprised because it looks like he’s changing. […]
“May you have a happy and prosperous new year!” This warm and well- intentioned greeting in the week before and after New Year’s Day, is one we offer each other each year. It is a good thing to wish someone prosperity. God wishes His people prosperity. In the Book of Deuteronomy, we find the Jewish people […]
European human rights lawyer J.C. von Krempach has taken a close look at the funding stream of the International Gay and Lesbian Association – Europe (ILGA) and concluded that most of their money comes from governments. Writing in the foreign policy blog Turtle Bay and Beyond, von Krempach found a vast majority of ILGA’s funds […]
The most vexing video of 2011 may be this clip of Congressman Dan Lungren questioning Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton on December 7. Though Stockton’s evasiveness is in line with the government’s history of not calling Islamism the enemy — recently exhibited by scrubbing FBI training materials and labeling the Fort Hood attack as […]
These first few days of 2012 find me returning to my desk and computer after a nice long break over the Christmas holiday to savor time with family and friends. The excitement and busyness of the past few years, with the growth of this website, my speaking engagements around the country and the publications of […]
I’m a bad Catholic. Do you know how I know? I took my Christmas trees down before Epiphany. That’s right. By January 2 I couldn’t stand the clutter anymore and we took them down. I did leave the Nativity scene up, but the trees are gone. I’ve never done the Liturgy of the Hours. Never. […]
Mary of the Morn Through the Gate O’Morn He came In a stable born Where St. Joseph Held her hand Both so tired and worn. Patient donkey Just outside Munching on some corn Saw the love St. Joseph had To Mary he was sworn. Saw St. Joseph’s Furrowed brow Knowing future scorn Saw St. Joseph […]
In 2009 two researchers filed a lawsuit claiming that new National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines easing restrictions on human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research are a violation the Dicky-Wicker Amendment, a budgetary amendment prohibiting federal tax dollars from being used to create or destroy human embryos for scientific research. In August 2010, district court […]
For those of you that missed it, December 10th was Human Rights Day here at the United Nations. Sixty-three years to the day, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 by unanimous vote at the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris, France. When the declaration was first authored, it was […]
There’s a radical idea surfacing in the world of psychology, and it may turn out to be a game changer when it comes to parenting in America. Thinking. That’s right, thinking. But not just thinking – smart thinking. Imagine what might happen if we stop parenting by thoughtlessly developing habits over time and instead institute […]
“Physician, heal thyself.” (Luke 4:23) As a fitness expert, I practice what I preach, exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet. Yet, like most people, I occasionally find that life gets too busy and the workouts and healthy habits temporarily fall by the wayside. My clothes start to feel a bit snug and the number […]
I sit here amongst a discombobulating array of items that all beckon my attention. Butz, the bird annihilator has bagged the catch of the day and the remains lie strewn all over the front room. I have already performed the grisly task of dislodging bird pieces from the table and now feathers which used to […]
Christmas 2011, I Want to get it Right At one Black Friday shopping frenzy A lady uses pepper spray Causing burning and panic Outside a mall, a large crowd waits anxiously To get their Air Jordan’s XI retro concords A man shoots his gun in the crowd The line outside the Coach Purse store Snakes outside into […]
One of the most amazing things about fatherhood is my children’s capacity to analyze every little thing I do. Give them an inch and they will take it a mile with anything I either said or did. No one ever wants to be challenged or corrected for their wrongs. This is a basic fact of […]
I start my meditation with a true story that will serve as a parable. On his 21st birthday, the nature writer Francis Thompson was presented by his father with a bill for all the expenses of his upbringing including the costs of his birth and delivery. Francis paid the bill, but he never spoke to his […]
The first 40 Days for Life campaign of 2012 is set for February 22 – April 1 and if you’re interested in leading this life-saving outreach in your community, it’s time to apply! By early indications, this is going to be a very exciting 40 Days for Life. Applications have already been pouring in from […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6; Matthew 2:1-12) Being Faithful Stewards of God’s Grace You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace. (Ephesians 3:2) Have you ever been entrusted with an important message to deliver to someone? If so, you probably worked hard to make sure […]
Time has gone by quickly, but it has been eight years since I started working as a Catholic writer. In that time, my mission has remained the same – I have always wanted to help women find God in the everyday busyness of their lives. I walk in those shoes. I know how crazy life […]
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. (John 3:16) I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. […]
Christmas Gold If I had a big house, As a rule-of-thumb, At Christmas I’d have loved-ones And others, if they’d come. If I had a big, house, A cupboard, warm and round, Would feed my Christmas guests The staff of life, here, found. If I had a big, house, All men I would let in, […]
Celebrity therapist and “life coach” Dr. Keith Ablow just jumped on the “let’s get the government out of the marriage business” bandwagon. I have been writing against the “privatizing marriage” mantra, going all the way back to 2005. (See also here and here.) I do not wish to rehearse those arguments here. But Dr. Ablow’s […]
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has been a highly volatile, highly unpredictable roller coaster ride. With a different candidate emerging at the top of the polls week after week, it would be folly for any of them to take their chances for granted. It is no […]
