The Red Winged Blackbird It’s said that once, long, long ago, When Christ had come to die, The Blackbird saw Him on the cross And wouldn’t pass Him by. He landed there, beside Our Lord To see what he could do To free the deadly crown of thorns That pierced Our Savior through. He worked […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalm 117:1-2; Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13; Luke 13:22-30) The Importance of Seeking First the Kingdom of God Lord, will only a few people be saved?” (Luke 13:23) These are perhaps the scariest words in Scripture. Embedded within this fellow’s question is the fear that many will not […]
Everything I ever needed to know about hospitality, I learned from my children. When their grandparents, friends or birthday party guests are scheduled to come, my children are beside themselves with excitement. The front door is opened about as much times as I hear the question “When will they get here?” The neighborhood playmates, who […]
How many books have you read in the past year or so? (This doesn’t count the ones that you started but did not finish and now languish on a shelf gathering dust.) I’m talking about books that you have read cover to cover. That may reduce the number by as much as half if you […]
My God is with Me The Lord my God is with me, But I do not feel His breath. His closeness does not warm me. But I know, I believe He is near. I trust He has not fled me, In spite of my ways, My sinfulness does not impede Him. For “Forgiveness” is His […]
Pope Francis is contemplating a major reworking of the top-level administrative machinery of the Church. Commentators sometimes describe this as “reforming the Roman Curia,” but if the Pope’s own words–together with public and private proposals intended to influence the result–are any indication, the project could extend far beyond reshuffling dicasteries and straightening out the affairs […]
The German government has invented a third “indeterminate” gender for official purposes on government documents. Instead of “M” or “F,” parents may list their children’s sex as “X.” Starting November 1, the parents of babies without “clear gender-determining physical characteristics” can register them without a sex on their birth certificates and other official documents. Parents […]
I always cringe a little when I hear people of various Protestant denominations say they belong to a “Bible-based” church and that, as a Catholic, I don’t. They aren’t right, of course. Unfortunately, they aren’t completely wrong, either, when they imply that, generally, Catholics don’t “know our Bible” the way many of them do. I […]
“Crisis pregnancy centers lie to women about abortion and contraception,” NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue declared in an email to supporters Thursday. The email contained a link to a video attacking crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) as “fake ‘clinics’ set up by the anti-choice movement.” The real aim of the video was to smear Virginia […]
Selecting a curriculum can be a truly overwhelming task each year for homeschooling mothers. So many times I have said to myself, “if I could see that book, I’d know if I want it!” Right? Then you hop online look through blogs of perfect homes, with perfect mom teachers, that have the perfect school rooms, […]
Throughout this Year of Faith it has become abundantly clear how important it is for each of us to live and to pray like Mary. Why? In the introduction to his October 1954 encyclical titled Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII explains it this way: From the earliest ages of the catholic church a Christian […]
The path to Hell is paved with good intentions. I don’t get that. It seems to me that good intentions ought to be worth more than a ticket to Hell. Having said that, I definitely get that the good intentions I have for any number of things can always be a hellish path. Exercise comes […]
The Guardian U.K. recently published an article entitled Should we care that smart women aren’t having kids? The piece was based on the work of Satoshi Kanazawa, a London School of Economics psychologist who conducted research on the link between intelligence and maternal urges and wrote the book The Intelligence Paradox based on his findings. […]
Fathers Felipe and Paulo Lizama, two twins saved from abortion when it was legal in Chile, are now both Catholic priests. The siblings say their mother’s determination to protect them in her womb fostered their vocations. “My mother was told to abort because the baby she was carrying had two heads, three legs, and four […]
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last month or so, chances are you’ve heard the latest revelations regarding the NSA’s unlawful invasion of American citizens’ privacy. According to the Washington Post, “The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted […]
We’ve all heard the “quality of life” argument applied to everything from an excuse for abortion to the reason posited to justify assisted suicide or some other form of euthanasia. Ongoing debates relating to various segments of Obama’s national health care law—the Affordable Care Act—challenge us to sort out and explain the problematic nature of using a slide rule […]
Some families are already gearing up to start school on Monday. We don’t start back until September 8, just after our parish festival. But no matter when you begin, here are some ideas to take your religious education to the next level. If you are doing all this already, kudos to you. Pray every day […]
The First Commandment is probably the one of the ten that we worry about the least. “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” After all, most of us haven’t spent time worshiping any of the Roman or Egyptian gods recently or paid homage to any pagan spirits. In […]
A growing sense of urgency surrounds the UN development agenda as major milestones approach and long-term goals are set to expire. Of particular concern to some is the fate of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Indeed many governments are expressing increasing exasperation with abortion advocates. In the closing minutes of a recent conference, delegates […]
I’ve always had some sort of exercise routine—even if it wasn’t much of a “routine,” per se. Eating well and staying fit has been part of my life more out of necessity than desire. It rises from chronic illness rather than vanity. The catalyst for me “working out” has been my calling to live out […]
I would like to think that it all started with the “Y” cord, but I know that is not so. Maybe it would be more accurate to state that perhaps it started with the words, “Why not?” We were presenting a marriage preparation class to thirty-five couples the other day, and wanting to give them […]
“The Islamists are taking revenge on us Christians!” These words were the commentary of Coptic-Catholic Bishop of Assiut, Kyrillos William Samaan, with regard to the latest Islamist attacks on Christians and Christian institutions in Egypt while in conversation on Monday (August 12) with the international Catholic pastoral charity “Aid to the Church in Need” (ACN). […]
My Heart, Their Home Just left my kids behind… A part of me stayed too. Little chunks of my heart ripped out, but Their lives, well-lived, transform the empty pits Into chambers where purpose and love intersect. Filled with their Becoming, My mother’s heart expands, Becoming a mansion that Welcomes home my children, And the […]
