Novena to Mary Free from iTunes I love a good novena, and it’s made even better when it involves the Blessed Mother. This novena focuses on Mary as the Untier of Knots, which is a wonderful image of her. You’ll learn all about it in the About section of the app or you can check […]
For as well as I know my only son, I never really understood him until I read John L. Parker Jr.’s Once a Runner. Often called the “definitive running story,” Once a Runner, published in 1978, remains a cult classic for those whose identities are defined by the sport of running. Through the tale of […]
Sleep Well Yes, he shot himself in the chest At the age of 37 Success, to peer inside the world Above which hangs the yellow sun by day The other, smaller stars at night Great flowers plant their shadows She saw him at her father’s shop Thought him rude and ugly That red-haired Dutchman, that […]
For The Death Haunted Art of Friendship (Part I), go here. How often in Scripture we find violence mingled with love, like water mingled with wine: in the Song of Songs, the watchmen beating the lover as she searches the city for her beloved; in Genesis, Abram’s knife poised over Isaac’s breast. Yet it is […]
Catholic religious leaders have warned that religious institutions may be forced to stop providing health care coverage if the Department of Health and Human Services does not change its mandate to provide contraceptives, including abortifacients, as part of their health care plans. Yeseterday, the first Catholic university has followed through by dropping its health care […]
“Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior” (Isaiah 45:15). Man is haughty and prideful, and in his conceit he constructs deities to suit his temperament: deities regal and terrible, blazing with fierce glory and swollen with righteous strength. It is not therefore surprising that so many fail to […]
Have you seen the U.S. Department of State’s definition and legislation for legal adulthood? The DOS website states: “When a child reaches the age of 18, they [sic] become a full legal adult in most U.S. localities. That may not be the case in overseas environments, where the age for acquiring adult status under another […]
I have to confess that I am a bit disheartened. I find that my fellow Catholics are having trouble really connecting with the Church’s teaching regarding genetic engineering. Some very smart, thoughtful and faithful Catholics are having difficulty with the distinction between gene therapy, which is genetic engineering to fix a genetic pathology, and genetic […]
President Obama’s recent statement on gay marriage has again thrust his religious views onto the front pages. In defending his position, Obama stressed that he and his wife were “practicing Christians” and that his stance was supported by Christ’s teaching of the Golden Rule. Since his quest to win the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois […]
ASTONISHING: The Washington Free Beacon has broken the news that although a baby can be aborted up until the ninth month in Washington DC, the White House Visitors Office requires that an unborn child must be counted as a full human being when its parents register for a White House tour. HEARTENING: The U.S. Conference […]
{disclaimer: I realize that NFP is not always used to avoid pregnancy, but can also be used for medical awareness and to help achieve pregnancy. For purposes of this article I am referring to NFP used as “periodic continence”, that is, to avoid pregnancy.} There is a faction of Catholics who, in their desire to […]
Sunflower How can you be standing after a storm when others have been trampled, wounded and torn But there you are so bold and bright Still reaching for the sun Sunflower beautiful and bold loyal and trusting a treasure untold So much power is there in your heart Facing the rain without falling apart You’ve […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3,6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20) Saying Yes to Jesus’ Call to Proclaim the Gospel to Others Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel. (Mark 16:15) What a simple, but immense, charge Jesus gave to his disciples! He even told them that […]
The Girl Scouts have been criticized for years for its leadership pulling the wholesome organization into the trendy world of sexual and gender activism. The piecemeal flare-ups accumulated until, in 2010, revelation of one incident at the UN (in this Friday Fax, and this one) exposed the whole stinking mess. Now the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is […]
Style, Sex, & Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter, edited buy Hallie Lord, is full of spiritual truths and spunk! The ten women who each tackle a different current issue seem to hit most of the hot topics usually found splashed across the covers of women’s tabloids, but from a Catholic […]
Did you know that Zelie Martin yelled at her daughter, Marie, at least once? The mother of St. Therese of Lisieux tells the story in a letter to her sister, a Visitation nun. Zelie was in great pain from her breast cancer and Marie told her, “Mama! Don’t make that face, it’s worrying auntie!” Zelie […]
The twentieth century saw the greatest advances made in science, technology, and medicine that the world has ever known. Building on the conceptual discoveries of the previous three centuries, we have wrought wonders unimagined in every decade of that century, and continue on unabated in this new century and new millennium. If there has been […]
In the novel Love Story, Oliver and Jenny want to marry. But their families don’t want them to marry. They are from “opposite sides of the tracks.” Oliver is rich. Jenny is poor. Both are well educated (he from Harvard; she from Radcliff) but aren’t interested in social status. They only want to start a […]
Growing up with a chronically ill mother, I found it very difficult to embrace Marian devotions as an adult. A true and present (and perfect!) mother did not seem real to me. Just as a faithful father reflects the love of God the Father to his children, a faithful mother reflects the love of the […]
Clouds in Heaven I was just a young thing Couldn’t been more than three When I asked Grandma questions As I perched upon her knee. Are there clouds in heaven? Do angels play in the rain? Do they splash in puddles Playing angel games? “You’ve got imagination!” She said as she squeezed me tight. “Yes, […]
The 2012 presidential election is shaping up to be one of the most significant elections in American history. The outcome of major political issues such as Obamacare, carbon regulations, and our looming fiscal calamity hang in the balance. In a larger sense, however, this year’s election sits in the shadow of a presidential election that […]
After breakfast in bed or brunch out on the town on Sunday, many families will celebrate Mother’s Day by planting flowers together. While I can’t speak for the rest of the country, here in Colorado there’s a rule of thumb that flowers simply *should not* be planted any sooner. Up until that time, the chance […]
When the news broke that Mitt and Ann Romney welcomed grandchildren numbers 17 and 18 this past Friday via “gestational surrogacy,” those of us here at CBC central—who oppose commercialized conception—wondered where the bottom is in these murky waters of assisted reproduction. Tagg Romney posted this on his facebook page after the twins were born: […]
The question of religious education and the formation in the faith of the next generation of Catholics in the United States was the theme of the Holy Father’s remarks to prelates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Regions X-XIII), who have just completed their five-yearly “ad limina” visit: Speaking to the group in […]
