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Archive for December, 2015
It Is Good to Be Seen
by Michelle Fritz
It is that time of year again, the time when we gather together to remember our blessings and bestow gifts upon one another in celebration of our Savior’s birth. It’s easy to get caught up in the secular world of stress, worrying, and over-buying, but as Christians it is important that we remember the reason […]
A Christmas Hero: John Bruchalski, MD
by Judie Brown
I read a story this week about a doctor who changed his attitude toward abortion some years ago. His name is very familiar to those of us who are residents of Northern Virginia: John Bruchalski, MD. He is the founder of the Tepeyac Family Center. This change of heart wound up changing his entire life—and […]
St. Thomas, Apostle
by Catholic Lane Editor
ST. THOMAS was one of the fishermen on Lake Galilee whom Our Lord called to be His apostles. By nature slow to believe, too apt to see difficulties, and too prone to look at the dark side of things, he had withal a most sympathetic, loving, and courageous heart. Once when Jesus spoke of the […]
St. Peter Canisius
by Catholic Lane Administrator
The founder of Protestantism broke from the Church in the same year in which Peter Canisius was born. The year 1517 saw Martin Luther begin the work which led so many minds into error, but in God’s Providence it was the dawning in the life of the future Saint of a new era of battle […]
Christmas Time Out of Time
by Jake Frost
My five year old daughter and I were playing a guitar duet together. On just one guitar: I fingered the chords, she strummed the strings. While she strummed, she made-up her own lyrics. This is a regular activity for us, and even without guitar accompaniment she loves to “write her own songs.” On the day […]
St. Philogonius, Bishop
by Catholic Lane Editor
ST. PHILOGONIUS was educated for the law, and appeared at the bar with great success. He was admired for his eloquence, but still more for his integrity and the sanctity of his life. This was considered a sufficient motive for dispensing with the canons, which require some time spent among the clergy before a person […]
St. Nemesion, Martyr
by Catholic Lane Administrator
IN the persecution of Decius, Nemesion, an Egyptian, was apprehended at Alexandria upon an indictment for theft. The servant of Christ easily cleared himself of that charge, but was immediately accused of being a Christian, and after being scourged and tormented more than the thieves, was condemned to be burnt with the robbers and other […]
In Year of Mercy, Catholics in Middle East ‘will pray for Daesh’
by ACN-USA News
By Oliver Maksan The Holy Year of Mercy, solemnly inaugurated by Pope Francis in Rome Dec. 8, 2015—on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception—is being hailed by Catholics throughout the Arab world International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) gathered some impressions. Father Dankha Issa is a Chaldean monk in Alqosh. Last […]
A New Dawn of Reproductive Freedom in China?
by Jonathan Abbamonte
Under China’s new two-child policy, forced and coercive abortions and sterilizations will continue, according to a panel of experts on China’s one-child policy who testified in a hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) on Capitol Hill last Thursday. Experts believe abuses will continue. Due to 35 years of stringent population control, China’s rapid […]
St. Gatian, Bishop
by Catholic Lane Editor
ST. GATIAN came from Rome with St. Dionysius of Paris, about the middle of the third century, and preached the Faith principally at Tours in Gaul, where he fixed his episcopal see. The Gauls in that part were extremely addicted to the worship of their idols. But no contradictions or sufferings were able to discourage […]
An Unholy Alliance: When Mob Forgiveness Meets Selective Grace
by Jonathan Hollingsworth
by Jonathan Hollingsworth on Dec 17, 2015 in Featured, Law & Justice, The Social Order, Those in Need 
A small town in Missouri recently came under fire for rallying around an accused child sex offender and shunning the abuse victim—even after the offender pleaded guilty in court. “If it takes a village to raise a child,” said a local prosecuting attorney, “what is a child to do when the village turns its back […]
Do You See Your Neighbor?
by James Littleton
Let’s reflect upon Luke 7:36–50: “A Pharisee invited him to dine with them, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.” Are we not all sinners in vital need of God’s mercy? […]
St. Olympias, widow
by Catholic Lane Administrator
ST. OLYMPIAS, the glory of the widows in the Eastern Church, was of a noble and wealthy family. Left an orphan at a tender age, she was brought up by Theodosia, sister of St. Amphilochius, a virtuous and prudent woman. Olympias insensibly reflected the virtues of this estimable woman. She married quite young, but her […]
Movie Review: The Letters
by Sr. Helena Burns, fsp
The Letters is another film about the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (acted with aplomb by Juliet Stevenson) — specifically that part of her life where, posthumously, personal letters that revealed her prolonged dark night of the soul surfaced. The stunning revelation is chronicled in the book Come Be My Light–The Private Writings of […]
Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop
by Catholic Lane Administrator
ST. EUSEBIUS was born of a noble family, in the island of Sardinia, where his father is said to have died in prison for the Faith. The Saint’s mother carried him and his sister, both infants, to Rome. Eusebius having been ordained, served the Church of Vercelli with such zeal that on the episcopal chair […]
“Camp Virgin Mary.” Displaced Iraqis get Chapel in Baghdad
by ACN-USA News
By Oliver Maksan BAGHDAD—Father Luis Montes is glad and he has reason to be: “We have just consecrated a new chapel. It was high time that our refugees got their own small church. This gives them back a piece of the home they have lost. And the people can now go to Mass without risking […]
Learning from the Moms
by Fr. Edward Looney
I’m a new priest and I have a lot to learn. Of course, working in a parish affords me many opportunities to work with different and diverse groups of people. A group of mothers approached me a few months ago and asked if I would be willing to lead a book discussion for them. I […]
Annual UN Report Repeats False Claims About Abortion
by Rebecca Oas Ph.D.
As wars and natural disasters force increasing numbers of people from their homes, among the most vulnerable are mothers with infants and pregnant women. Unfortunately, maternal health suffers most in humanitarian settings, lags behind other global development goals, and is often tarnished with controversy by the pro-abortion lobby’s attempts to co-opt it. In its annual […]
St. Mesmin
by Catholic Lane Administrator
ST. MESMIN was a native of Verdun. The inhabitants of that place having proved disloyal to King Clovis, an uncle of our Saint’s, a priest named Euspice, brought about a reconciliation between the monarch and his subjects. Clovis, appreciating the virtues of Euspice, persuaded him to take up his residence at court, and the servant […]
Poem: “If I Had But an Hour with You”
by L. Lapiz
If I Had But an Hour with You If I had but an hour with You It would be as a dream come true To sit at your feet and gaze upon You ’Twould be joy beyond measure. But alas, it is not to be Not now whilst I am living. This joy, this joy […]
Front Row With Francis: Introduction to the Year of Mercy
by Carlos X
In his first General Audience during the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis explained why he has called for this extraordinary jubilee year. “Yesterday, I opened here, in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy, after having opened it already in the Cathedral of Bangui in the Central African Republic,” during his […]
St. John of the Cross
by Catholic Lane Editor
St. John of the Cross, 1542-1591. THE father of St. John was discarded by his kindred for marrying a poor orphan, and the Saint, thus born and nurtured in poverty, chose it also for his portion. Unable to learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina, while still […]
