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Still a Bottomless Pit III
by E. L. Core
by E. L. Core on Dec 30, 2016 in Columnists, Featured, Government & Politics, Law & Justice, The Economy 
Why isn’t this figure newsworthy?
Archive for December, 2016
Reflections for Sunday, January 1, 2017 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
by Maurice Blumberg
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Numbers 6:22-27 2nd Reading: Galatians 4:4-7 Responsorial: Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8 Gospel: Luke 2:16-21 Joining Mary in Pondering and Praising the Lord Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) On this New Year’s Day, you might say, […]
Book Review: The Best is Yet to Come
by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
Looking to make the most of the new year? Thinking that your life needs an attitude adjustment but aren’t sure where to begin? The Best is Yet to Come: Living Fully in Each Moment by Sr. Anne Bryan Smollin (Sorin Books, 2016) offers a wonderful guide to squeezing the maximum amount of joy out of […]
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Jospeh
by Pope Benedict XVI
As we follow the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, let us fix our gaze on Jesus, Mary and Joseph and adore the mystery of a God who chose to be born of a woman, the Blessed Virgin, and to enter this world in the way common to all humankind. By so doing he sanctified the […]
Poem: “St. Francis and the Birds”
by Philip Kolin
St. Francis and the Birds The birds flocked To hear St. Francis Tell them stories of creation And how they first played The sky like a huge harp, Their wings plucking Strings of pure air While warbling canticles On the splendor of flight. Philip C. Kolin
Ohio State Linebacker Goes From Walk-On to Scholarship Captain
by Trent Beattie
Coming out of high school in 2012, Joe Burger was not offered a scholarship to Ohio State University. Undeterred, he worked hard at contributing to the team in any way he could. His work has paid off, as he was awarded a scholarship last year. And now the linebacker is a senior captain of the […]
The Castro Regime: Repression of the Rights to Life and Liberty
by Jonathan Abbamonte
Freedom is never free. The passing of Fidel Castro is a keen reminder that many liberties so often taken for granted in the West, even as they are rapidly diminishing in the face of radical secularism, are still not a given for many. For over 55 years, the Castro regime perpetrated numerous human rights abuses. […]
Joy of Christmas Carries Hope for the Ages
by Mark Davis Pickup
The Christmas Season is meant for inexpressible Joy. After all, Advent marks the coming of Jesus Christ to earth to save humanity from the penalty of sin and evil. It should be a joyous time as we contemplate this colossal event that was so immense that even the heavens were shaken and altered at what […]
A Christmas Letter from Aleppo
by ACN-USA News
By Father Ziad Hilal, S.J. ALEPPO, Syria–For the past few days, Aleppo city has been breathing sighs of relief. Since the rebels reached an agreement with the regime forces and its allies to evacuate all civilians and militants from their last stronghold in east Aleppo city, there finally can be some peace. From the very […]
Poem: “A Christmas Carol- In the Bleak Mid-Winter”
by Christina Rossetti
A Christmas Carol In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter Long ago. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign: […]
The Beauty of Sacramental Love
by Judie Brown
by Judie Brown on Dec 23, 2016 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Marriage, Reproductive Technology
While preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ this year, we must also think about the wonderful blessings that Joseph and Mary experienced when God chose them to be the parents of His Son. Mary, who was conceived without original sin, and Joseph, who was vowed to Mary’s virginity and to his role […]
Christ Has Come; He Will Come Again; I Can Say All is Well
by Mark Davis Pickup
Saint Ignatius was Bishop of Antioch overseeing 1st century Syrian Christians and was a disciple of the Apostle John. He wrote a letter to the Christians at Ephesus as he was being transported to Rome to face wild beasts in the arena. He said, “For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord […]
Pro-Family Leaders Launch Declaration on Marriage in Cape Town
by Marianna Orlandi, Ph.D
Pro-family leaders from around the world recently gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, to roll out and sign a declaration that aims to protect the family and traditional marriage. In its five short paragraphs, the Cape Town Declaration recognizes the family as the “first and primordial community” and “the bedrock of civil society.” It reaffirms […]
Reflections for Sunday, December 25, 2016 – The Nativity of the Lord
by Maurice Blumberg
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10 2nd Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6 Responsorial: Psalm 98:1-6 Gospel: John 1:1-18 Seeing God’s Humility and His Plan for Us in the Birth of Jesus The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14) The date: December 1223. The place: […]
LIFE — It’s Wonderful!
by Kurt Kondrich
In the classic Christmas film “It’s a wonderful life” George Bailey is an honest man living in small town whose life seems so desperate that he contemplates suicide. George’s guardian angel intercedes as he prepares to jump from a bridge showing him how dark the world would have been if he had never lived. The […]
Poem: “Return”
by Guy McClung, J.D., Ph.D.
Return A star smile surprise, From me untimely ripped, Tore the wind with Moments of unsilence, then Severed a startled sullen sky, Rising, careening, disappearing. I moaned forever. Left cleft, gored, jagged, One searing, souless scar, Unhealing. Mined like a fertile shaft Through a seam of precious gems, My stellar pebble dug and chiseled, Processed, […]
Come Let Us Adore Him
by Randal Agostini
Adoration: The intense and greatest admiration culminating in reverent worship of the divine. Acts of homage in words of praise, prayer or gifts that express the adoring attitude of the creature in the presence of his Creator. The expression of the soul’s mystical realization of God’s presence (Smith’s Bible Dictionary, 1901). There is just one […]
Aleppo is Burning: Three Days in the Life of a City Under Siege
by ACN-USA News
The following report is written by an Aleppo-based Jesuit priest, who preferred to remain anonymous. Dec. 8, 2016 In the last few days the news has come in thick and fast. The government forces have been retaking the zones that it has lost control of ever since 2012. The people here are hoping this military […]
French Court Rules: Children with Down Syndrome Not Allowed to Smile on TV
by Marianna Orlandi, Ph.D
by Marianna Orlandi, Ph.D on Dec 15, 2016 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Those in Need
On November 10, the Conseil d’Etat ruled it “inappropriate” to show happy children with Down syndrome on TV, as that sight could “trouble” women who chose not to give birth to their disabled children. With this pronouncement, the French judges upheld a previous decision by the CSA (“Conseil Supérieur de l’audiovisuel” – equivalent of the […]
Poem: “The Burning Babe”
by St. Robert Southwell
The Burning Babe As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow, Surpris’d I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow; And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near, A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear; Who, scorched with excessive heat, such […]
Five Bad Christmas Ideas
by Patti Maguire Armstrong
Banning Christmas Trees The public display of Christmas trees might hurt someone? The only people who ever claim that a Christmas tree inflicts emotional damage are the Christian haters. They would have been the ones that showed up at the Roman coliseums to watch Christians get eaten by lions. If these people are disturbed by […]
Reflections for Sunday, December 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday of Advent
by Maurice Blumberg
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14 2nd Reading: Romans 1:1-7 Responsorial: Psalm 24:1-6 Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24 Allowing the Coming of Emmanuel, God with Us, to Change Our Lives They shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23) “Emmanuel.” You can imagine what that […]
We Can’t Contracept Our Way to Maternal and Child Health
by Rebecca Oas Ph.D.
For too long the answer to making childbirth less dangerous has been to urge women to avoid it. The family planning establishment, backed by powerful Western governments, has saturated the global market for contraception, yet more than 300,000 women still die every year in childbirth. It is time to release the stranglehold that family planning […]
Yes Guy, There is and Always Will Be an America
by Guy McClung, J.D., Ph.D.
Dear Editor, I am in my 70th year. Some of my little-minded bitter friends rejoice that America will be no more because it has been fundamentally changed. I, and many of my friends, served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. My Dad, who crossed the English Channel 70 times on a non-tourist visa, […]
