I found myself traveling with nothing to read, so I wandered over to the airport kiosk to find something to occupy me for a few hours. Having a small mountain of unread books at home, I couldn’t justify another, so it had to be a magazine, and who can resist National Geographic? The cover was […]
I remember the deep frustration at one point years ago when a surly teen, despite having been conceived with joy and raised with devoted love—decided he wouldn’t accompany us to Sunday Mass. Confronted with his obstinacy, my larger disquiet was how his behavior would affect the younger children. While wringing my hands, I confided my […]
While many pious people are wringing their hands over the popular culture and wondering if God will save his people, I find that the moral decay and preposterous incongruities we witness daily actually reinforce all I believe about Divine Revelation. What else is to be expected when God is removed from the Public Square? It […]
I’ve noticed a curious tic in my circle of friends. We’ve known each other for years, we share the faith, a worldview, and a trail of conversations on almost every subject, and yet, there are moments where we stop mid-sentence to adjust our words, the delivery, or the approach to a topic that is currently […]
Today, as we reflect on the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, we recommit ourselves to the decision’s guiding principle: that every woman should be able to make her own choices about her body and her health … [because] this is a country where everyone deserves the same freedom and […]
I must begin by saying that Disney has few more intense critics than this writer. I didn’t create an entirely Disney-free household for my children, but those materials generated by that empire that made their way past the threshold were clearly in enemy territory. We made a tenuous peace with some, but refused to be […]
Who is she that comes forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array? (Song of Solomon 6:10) Does that Scripture really refer to the sweet mother in our crèche? The adoring mother, demurely gazing at the Babe, surrounded by inquisitive shepherds and under […]
The lives of women have been so severely impacted by the dark side of contemporary culture that it’s hard to know where to begin to dig out of the lies. As with a ball of knotted twine, one needs to see the threads distinctly in order to separate and untangle them. Likewise, we need to […]
After decades of distracted catechesis on the faith, many contemporary Catholics have discerned two pressing needs: to learn why Marian devotion is such an integral element in the life of the Church, and to find a comprehensive (but accessible!) written work to offer to others who believe that there is no need to include Mary in […]
St. Monica is always on the near horizon for Catholic mothers, because the heartfelt prayers she offered on behalf of her wayward son, Augustine, were instrumental in his conversion. I must confess, though, that my admiration was limited by my narrow understanding of her life. I saw her less as a well-rounded Christian and more […]
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothersor your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, […]
Like the rest of the world, I sat stunned by the revelation that our new Holy Father was almost completely unknown. We didn’t recognize the name; we scrambled for reference points; we watched transfixed as an older man was brought out on the loggia to meet his spiritual children. He also looked somewhat stunned, standing […]
Concerning the question of sending American women into combat, we have thus far looked at the trajectory of the feminist movement, specifically how it went from advocating basic equality between the sexes to perverting and deconstructing sexuality altogether. There have been two distinct and deliberate effects of this radical feminism: the first being a blurring […]
Despite the genuine good will of many of those who work to create equal opportunities for men and women, it cannot be ignored that there are more insidious ends in play by feminist ideologues. Historically, there has been a close working relationship between Marxist and feminists, and thus the dialectic used to understand economic history […]
With the recent declaration by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it would seem that there is an indisputable decision to allow women to serve in combat units in the future. To argue to the contrary might be an exercise in futility—much like closing the barn door after the horses have bolted—but this is not so. […]
Having offered my initial response to the election of 2012, I promised a more positive column, and that promise is easy to fulfill—Christ is risen, and faith in him is stronger than death. Although I missed living in the 1950’s by a hair’s breadth, that decades’s culture was long celebrated in movies, books, and music. […]
Almost two thousand years ago, the Roman historian Livy assessed the situation in Rome by noting, “We can bear neither our vices nor the remedies.” This comment was highlighted recently on the blog of a well-known priest, who saw similarities between the decline of Rome and the current state of affairs in the United States. […]
In the months leading up to the presidential election, the American bishops’ conference clearly made a strong, tactical move. It is counterproductive in the present climate, they posited, to dwell on the questions concerning the liceity of contraceptive use, but far more productive to focus our energy on the crucial right to religious liberty for […]
As we endure another “Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” it would be good to review how many people are touched by this life-threatening disease. The statistics offered by the American Cancer Society show that there are approximately 230,000 new breast cancer cases annually, and 95% of those incidents are in women above the age of 40. […]
Most of the country has heard of the decision by one public school system in Rhode Island to amend its policy towards “gendered” activities for its students. Cranston hosts the typical middle school events — father-daughter dances and mother-son sports outings — which facilitate family and community bonding. Such light-hearted group activities provide memories and […]
Gore Vidal has died. Almost unknown to young adults, years ago he was considered the clever old man of belles lettres — a shocking rake with a bracing wit. The wit, though, distilled through the decades, comes down to us more as vinegar than aged claret, more snark than savvy. Mores the pity. We’d love […]
On June 23rd, the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral of Providence, RI opened her arms to embrace three new priests, who were ordained in a marvelous ceremony that showed the Church at her finest. Bishop Thomas Tobin was supported by five fellow bishops, scores of priests, numerous joyful Religious, and delighted lay faithful—all of whom […]
Those who are up-to-date on the television series MadMen have an interesting episode to chew on as they await the season finale, but in the limited discussions I’ve followed since it aired, I have yet to see any reference to what I found the most profound point: the reverence due to the human body. […]
How many times have we met with dear friends who are distraught about a family member, perhaps a child who has left the faith or a family crisis hinging on poor decisions? After looking at the details, exploring the possible harms, and coming to grips with what is at stake, the conversation usually ends with […]
