Robert J. Gieb has practiced probate law in Ft. Worth, Texas for thirty years. He is local counsel for Catholics United For Life of North Texas.
We as Catholics believe that at death our material bodies are temporarily separated from our non-material souls until the end of time. We believe that at the end of time our bodies will be resurrected and re-united with our souls for eternity. For those who lived righteous lives their reunited bodies and souls will be […]
You have no doubt focused on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in preparing for your reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God… the emphasis being on the word “gifts.” They are free to you. But they are not cheap giveaways. You may have heard […]
At the homily during a recent Sunday Mass, in a parish which I attended some years ago, the priest was in high dudgeon, almost hysterical about the actions of the current president in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Quoting the Protestant minister Dietrich Bonheoffer and Jesuit priest Alfred Delp, both murdered by the Nazis […]
The new superintendent of my local independent school district unilaterally decreed a few months ago that any student with the chromosomes and the privy parts of one sex, but who “self-identifies” as one of the opposite sex, must now be given access to the bathrooms of the other sex or to single user bathrooms. Also, […]
The early part of the first century A.D.: Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ Herodias harbored a grudge against […]
“I’ve been served with a restraining order. I need a lawyer. Will you help me?” I answered the call one evening in 1989. I said yes and, as it turned out, from that point forward I have been active in the pro-life movement. The caller was Chuck Pelletier, founder of the local pro-life center here […]
In the Book of Isaiah the prophet recounts his vision: He saw God, sitting before him on a “high and lofty throne”while the Seraphim stationed above cried out: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. All the earth is full of his glory.” Then at the sound of that cry “the frame of the […]
In a large urban parish which I attended some years ago I have noticed that the liturgical life seems to be shrinking in both action and attitude. The priests no longer hear confessions before Sunday Mass. On minor federal holidays the two regular daily Masses are reduced to only one mid-morning when most working people […]
Recently I read a collection of essays by various Catholic historians published in a book entitled Catholicism and Historical Narrative, edited by Kevin Schmiesing. As Schmiesing says in his introduction to the book, the fundamental job of historians is to “uncover the truth about the past.” “Yet,” he reminds us, “most historical debate occurs not […]
What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” “I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, […]
There are few people who would deny that they want peace in our violent world. Catholics pray for it at every Mass: Dona nobis pacem. Some have bumper stickers with Pope Paul VI’s much quoted statement for his 1972 Message for that year’s Day of World Peace: “If you want peace, work for justice.” St […]
St. Augustine is famously quoted as teaching that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. The word “restless” captures this truth well, although here in Texas the condition might also be described as an itch that can’t quite get scratched. However it is described the great bishop of Hippo is correct. Our hearts […]
How did it happen that so many prominent Catholics, especially those in politics and in academia, moved from being ardent defenders of the unborn and the culture of life to advocates of the culture of death with such ease. It all seemed so smooth and unremarkable. In such a short time after the January 1973 […]
In 2013 the Texas legislature passed, and Governor Rick Perry signed, enormously significant pro-life legislation that helps to protect the unborn child and the health of the mother of the unborn child. The law prohibits the killing of the unborn after 20 weeks gestation, requires any physician performing abortions at abortion facilities in the State […]
Certain images leave a lasting impression on us. The photograph of the lone young Chinese man in Tiananmen Square in 1989, standing his ground and asserting his individual human dignity as he blocked the progress of a column of army tanks is one of those images. The man was called “tank man” in the media. […]
Some weeks ago a group of young people, in their late 20s and early 30s, began showing up on the sidewalk in front of a local abortion facility where I and dozens of other pro life witnesses from Catholics United for Life have done sidewalk counseling for many years. They are an energetic bunch, full […]
Marlise Munoz collapsed in November 2013 from a blood clot in her lungs while pregnant with her second child. She was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas, a public hospital operated by the Tarrant County Hospital District, where she was put on life support. Media reports said that in the weeks […]
The U.S. edition of the men’s style and lifestyle magazine Esquire recently named Pope Francis as its Best Dressed Man of 2013. The magazine explained that the decision was “unconventional,” but insisted that the way that the pope dresses has “signaled a new era (and for many, renewed hope) for the Catholic Church.” Mark-Evan Blackman, […]
I remember the woman well. She was in her mid-twenties. She wanted an abortion, and did not want anyone or anything to interfere with her plan. She had arrived at the abortion facility that morning with a young man whom I later learned was her boyfriend…and the father of the child whom she came to […]
In an interview by Edward Pentin of Zenit on July 25, 2013, Cardinal Raymond Burke was asked if the abuses of the liturgy that abounded after the Second Vatican Council affected the moral life of Catholics. “There’s no question in my mind,” he said, “that the abuses in the sacred liturgy, reduction of the liturgy […]
The election of Pope Francis was generally an occasion of joy around the world, especially for Catholics in Latin America. His call for simplicity and authenticity in living the Christian life has been received with enthusiasm. His intended mission as Holy Father seems to be to model Christian living in the 21st century. He urges […]
The Texas baby blood war played out in Austin and in the national media last week. The abortion industry marshaled its legislative enablers (also known as members of the Democratic Party) at the state capital. The abortionists’ ire was directed at a proposed law that would impose a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of […]
On the Friday that is the 19th day after the feast of Pentecost the Church celebrates the feast of the Sacred Heart. On that day, as just about every Friday of every week of the year, my pro life colleagues will be present in front of two local abortion facilities. They will offer the counsel […]
The Sacred Liturgy is rich in ritual and ceremony, and that is fitting. It is the meeting of heaven and earth. It is humanity’s encounter with God that happens in no other on earth. In the Mass earthly bonds are transcended, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is re-presented. We are there by […]
