The recent report by transhumanist Zoltan Istvan that scientists are well on their way to successfully creating artificial wombs has caused a stir in a number of circles. Ectogenesis, the scientific name for the process, was once merely a product of fiction. For most of us, however, the reality of artificial wombs is something we […]
It’s a sad fact that ISIS has become part of our vocabulary, but many of us still don’t know a lot about this terrorist movement. At Aleteia, news editor John Burger spent time with some people knowledgeable abaout this group, and created a top 10 list. Burger spoke to Father Elias D. Mallon, external Affairs […]
“We do not mostly provide preventative medical care [or] cure diseases or prevent them. What we do is social change.” So writes Daniel E. Pellegrom of Pathfinder International in a recent scholarly book marketed to educators, policymakers, and advocates for abortion and other aspects of “reproductive health.” Pathfinder boasts helping the Communist government in Beijing […]
Pope Francis denounced the trend of moral relativism during a meeting on Sunday with Catholic bishops from Korea and around Asia. Christians must avoid the temptation “to compromise our faith, to water down the radical demands of the Gospel and to conform to the spirit of this age,” the pope said. He said that dialogue is “an essential part […]
Sports movies have a built-in source of drama. In every contest there are winners and losers, hard work and teamwork, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Yet such movies also can lapse into melodrama and cliché: slow-motion metaphors that elevate sports above other challenges of life. Yet the best sports movies fit […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 22:19-23; Psalm 138:1-3,6,8; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20) God’s “Inscrutable” and “Unsearchable” Plan to Establish His Church Upon this rock I will build my church. (Matthew 16:18) For years, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an object of international acclaim, a celebrity of sorts whom people wanted to […]
Pattharamon Janbua is a surrogate mother who carried twins for an Australian couple. Upon learning that one of the twins had Down syndrome, the couple pressed Janbua to get an abortion. She refused and the couple chose to abandon that child and take only the healthy baby. This is a chilling story, but one with a happy ending […]
After finishing up one of the marriage classes we offer to couples preparing for marriage, we facilitators will often talk about what went right and necessary improvements. It seems no matter how much we prepare technology to work properly, it invariably has us jumping through hoops and frustrating us crazy. We joke about gremlins and […]
In the debate surrounding the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (ABC link), there has arisen a core of individuals whose demeanor can best be described as zealous. This group has all but abandoned the core scientific principle of allowing themselves to be led, without prejudice, by the preponderance of the scientific data. It […]
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” –Maya Angelou It’s all about our stories. Everyone has them – many of them, in most cases. Your stories, taken all together, explain you. You can look in the mirror, see that face with wrinkles around your mouth and at the corners […]
Ferial Day comes from the Latin word feria which means “Free Day.” The Church uses this phrase to denote a day in which there is no Solemnity, Feast, Memorial, or Commemoration of a Saint.
A Seed of Hope Father, my God, my Creator, I wander in darkness. There is no light in my life. There is no hope in my body. Grant me God, Your brilliance, Drive away this darkness in my life. I hold before You a blackness which Only Your light can penetrate. I hold up to […]
The apostles thought she was a nuisance and asked Jesus to get rid of her. Jesus had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon, modern-day Lebanon, and a local woman approached him for a favor. This was pagan country, home turf of the infamous Jezebel. The inhabitants of these parts were fondly referred to […]
GEYSA, fourth Duke of Hungary, was, with his wife, converted to the Faith, and saw in a vision the martyr St. Stephen, who told him that he should have a son who would perfect the work he had begun. This son was born in 977, and received the name of Stephen. He was most carefully […]
“Do you pray the Rosary every day?,” Pope Francis asked the crowd at Castelgandolfo on the Feast of the Assumption last year. “But I’m not sure you do, he added, teasingly. “Yes!,” the crowd yelled back in unison. Pope Francis is traveling in South Korea this week, and thus he did not hold his weekly […]
Pope Francis echoed his two immediate predecessors last week when he told an international meeting on the family that the institution is under “the attacks of manipulation and dominance” from “worldly centres of power.” The family, the pope said, “is a centre of love, where reigns the law of respect and communion.” Francis was speaking […]
The new Irish film, Calvary, is a fierce expedition into the repercussions and present climate of post-clergy-sex-abuse-scandal Ireland. It’s an unblinking, fictitious story that’s an apt vehicle not so much to wonder “how?” and “what went so terribly wrong?” as it is to gauge people’s reactions. Calvary sports the simplest, boldest, shortest Act One I […]
After two weeks of media reports on baby Gammy, is difficult to discern which version of the story is the one we should believe. Is it true that the Australian couple, who used the services of a Thai “surrogate mom”, upon learning that one of the two children that the “surrogate mom” was expecting suffered […]
After the Confetior and a series of prayers, the priest ascends the altar and begins to read the Introit. During High Mass, this is the set of verses that is chanted as Mass begins. In the Ordinary Form, this is referred to as the “opening verse”, and is actually optional. The priest might say it […]
De Profundis Oh why is heaven built so far, Oh why is earth set so remote? I cannot reach the nearest star That hangs afloat. I would not care to reach the moon, One round monotonous of change; Yet even she repeats her tune Beyond my range. I never watch the scatter’d fire Of stars, […]
When I first became a mom, I was not quite 23 years old. I lived 3 hours away from my parents and my friends, and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have the internet or blogs back in those days, I really felt like we were completely on our own. I […]
Just as the movie Brokeback Mountain paved the way for widespread acceptance of homosexual love affairs, the novel The Lion’s Heart is poised to do the same for the Catholic view of homosexuality. Almost certainly the first of its kind, this gay Catholic romance novel was written by Dena Hunt (also author of Treason) and published by Full […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 56:1,6-7; Psalm 67:2-3,5-6,8; Romans 11:13-15,29-32; Matthew 15:21-28) The Power of Persistent Prayer Woman, great is your faith! (Matthew 15:28) Today’s Gospel reading gives us a vivid illustration of Jesus’ teaching that we need to ask, seek, and knock. Only this is not a parable or a […]
The news of Robin Williams’ death is heartbreaking, as is any news of the death of one of our heroes. Just as was the news of mega-church pastor Rick Warren’s son’s suicide. I can understand Williams and I feel pity and sorrow for those souls. I really can and do. Between the time I was 14-17 I tried on […]
