Activists from around the country, from pro-life groups to Tea Party Patriots, plan to be on-hand on Tuesday for a rally opposing the HHS mandate as the Supreme Court begins to hear arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius. “This case has always been about religious liberty. […]
Faith and freedom reinforce one another, each making the other possible.
When a man and woman profess their vows and drive off with a “Just Married” banner, will they find enough service stations down the road to fill their relationship tank and fix what may break down? That’s the kind of question some experts are asking about the support—or lack of it—the Church and the Catholic […]
Some people try to get rich quick by aiming for a $400 million jackpot, and others try to lose weight quick through fad diets. These methods very rarely work even among worldly goals; why would we expect them to work any better in our spiritual lives, where perseverance bears the reward? There is no get […]
This letter is addressed to every physician, scientist, and genetic counselor who believes in a eugenic agenda that targets the unborn specifically because of diagnosed genetic anomalies. It asks a series of penetrating questions that invite thoughtful response, and are not meant to be rhetorical. The first question is: WHO? Who taught you in medical […]
Lent’s a time of introspection. We read Exodus, and watch the Israelites grumbling, even after the amazing things God had done for them (Ex 17:3-7). In them, we recognize ourselves. For many of us, then, Lent is time for the spiritual equivalent of New Year’s resolutions. We set aside work on ourselves for forty days […]
Today’s Gospel from Luke is one many know and love; the parable of the prodigal son. This is a great reading to meditate and reflect on during Lent. I’m not going to ask you if you’ve ever been the prodigal son or daughter. I’m going to ask you this: How many times have you been […]
Light my Way In the beginning was an explosion. Love exploded as energy filling the void! Whirling forth from it’s womb, Light scattered, seen and unseen, Racing through newborn time towards souls yet created. Angels, pure as the light itself, invisible Sped through eons, biding time, until the babe was born. Love’s energy illuminated them, […]
In spite of an uncertain future, Christians in Syria do not want to leave. This was the message of a local Catholic leader, who said, “We Christians are living in fear, the future is uncertain, but we want to stay in our homeland.” The statement came from the Melkite Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Homs, Hama and […]
Dawn Eden is the author of My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints and the 2006 best-seller The Thrill of the Chaste. A victim of childhood sexual abuse, the Catholic convert tells of how getting to know saints who suffered abuse of various kinds has helped in her […]
Pope Francis reflected on the meaning of fatherhood during his weekly General Audience held on the Feast of St. Joseph—the Foster Father of the Lord. The Pope asked all the ‘daddies’ in the crowd estimated at 60,000 to raise their hands and then he shared his special wish for fathers and their children: “Be for […]
One summer afternoon during the Sixties, I watched as pods from another planet grew replacement bodies to invade the human race with duplicate, soul-less creatures. After watching the original version of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as an eight-year-old, I felt fearful walking around my neighborhood as if there was something out there. Many years later, […]
If you’ve ever been betrayed by a best friend or by someone you loved deeply, remember that Jesus was, too. Judas was a part of Jesus’ inner circle. Jesus called him, chose him, spent every day in his company as they traveled together preaching the good news. At the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the […]
Much has been made of Catholics’ negativism toward Church teaching and practice on marriage as it was reflected in survey results released by several European bishops’ conferences and some U.S. dioceses. The mostly self-selected respondents predictably disagreed with the Church about many things, leading progressive Catholic media to claim this showed the need for change. […]
Despite scientific research finding women using the contraceptive Depo Provera are at higher risk to transmit HIV/AIDS and develop breast cancer, Planned Parenthood plans to widely distribute the injectable to women in Zambia. Abortion advocates are lauding the Zambian governments decision to create, for the first time, a line item within the country’s budget for […]
Dear Anthony, I’m confused, and slightly worried. I recently read an article by a respected Catholic author talking about being married to the person you lose your virginity to, that it is a fact the Bible teaches, and that those who marry someone else are not really married in the eyes of God. It was […]
I’m so excited this week about Devin Rose’s newest book The Protestant’s Dilemma, excited in a way that I honestly didn’t think I could muster again after my passion for his first book If Protestantism is True. Both, in my opinion, are must reads, but the format and fullness of Dilemma are really perfected and so I’d […]
Pro-lifers have told people without fail that “abortion stops a beating heart,” but perhaps no technology made that clearer than the fetal heartbeat stethoscope, allowing mothers and dads to hear the “whoosh-whoosh” of their unborn child’s pumping circulatory system. That is, until maybe now. For years, the fetal heartbeat stethoscope was a specialized piece of […]
Thursday MARCH 20, 2014 Gospel LK 16:19-31 As an Eastern Catholic, we are taught early on to fight death at all costs. Contrary to popular belief, death is not natural and is actually a result of sin. As a result of sin every man and woman, whether a pious believer or an atheist, will one day taste death. In this […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42) Lent, A Time to Sharpen Our Spiritual Focus If you knew the gift of God … (John 4:10) It is a constant challenge to see spiritual reality in the midst of our everyday lives. One of the […]
Lizzie Velásquez is a 24 year old American woman who was born with a very rare disease (shared by only two other people in the United States) that doesn’t allow her to gain weight. She has been bullied most of her life, including being labeled the “World’s Ugliest Woman” in an internet video that received […]
The term “theistic evolution” is used in contrast to the atheistic idea of evolution. It means evolution set in motion by God or under the direction of God, and seems appropriate for a believer who admits some truth to evolutionary science. But I don’t like the phrase because it’s a confusing redundancy. Think about it. If you’re a […]
A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture: “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him” (Matthew 1:24). When I discovered that today’s Gospel Reading was about Joseph and his “yes” to becoming the foster father of Jesus, I began to hunt for my grade school St. Joseph Missal. What a treasure! Happy memories […]
“By faith man completely submits his intellect and his will to God” (Dei Verbum, 5). Our Screwtape Tendency You may be wondering how the Screwtape Letters can possibly help us in becoming better disciples. If we take the time to carefully dissect what Screwtape’s intent is with the “Patient”, we see the very thing Screwtape is […]
