Transhumanism is everywhere. We are being steeped in it like a tea bag in hot water. Not all the images are favorable, but shows like Almost Human, Intelligence, and Lab Rats and movies like the Bourne Legacy, Her, and Transcendence keep transhumanist themes always percolating, especially in the minds of those who will be most […]
Editor’s Note: Looking for a way to deepen your prayer this Lent and Easter? ShaneKapler’s Through, With, & In Him shows readers how the Church’s sacraments, liturgy, and private devotions unite them to the prayer continually issuing from the heart of Christ. Here is a first look, compliments of Angelico Press: As [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of […]
The latest children’s book, penned by a transhumanist, is really going well beyond the reality that we know as human beings. The book, entitled Death Is Wrong, is explained thusly: If you have ever asked, “Why do people have to die?” then this book is for you. The answer is that no, death is not necessary, […]
I’m so excited this week about Devin Rose’s newest book The Protestant’s Dilemma, excited in a way that I honestly didn’t think I could muster again after my passion for his first book If Protestantism is True. Both, in my opinion, are must reads, but the format and fullness of Dilemma are really perfected and so I’d […]
“By faith man completely submits his intellect and his will to God” (Dei Verbum, 5). Our Screwtape Tendency You may be wondering how the Screwtape Letters can possibly help us in becoming better disciples. If we take the time to carefully dissect what Screwtape’s intent is with the “Patient”, we see the very thing Screwtape is […]
Elizabeth Ficocelli, raised as a non-practicing Lutheran, did not become Catholic until she was preparing to marry her Catholic boyfriend, but even as a child, she felt that God was leading her to a special mission. To fulfill that mission, Ficocelli states that “God had in store for me amazingly heavenly helpmates who would be […]
In Emilie Barnes book More Hours in My Day I read the story of a woman who was upset because her husband wanted her to pack his lunch everyday. She didn’t want to do it. Then Emilie asked her, “If the Lord were to ask you to pack Him a lunch, would you do it?” Her […]
Ever “evolving”, “progressing” — or so he believes — the modern intellectual mentality slithers out of the sea of mystery, clambering from arrogant skepticism to jaded cynicism, until exhausted of wit and verve, it reaches the hard shore of “reason”. And there on the flat landscape it flutters, just out of reach of the lapping […]
Last month, in a Letter to Families, Pope Francis asked families to pray for the success of October’s Synod on the Family, when bishops, priests, religious and lay experts assemble to consider the “pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.” So that the synod may have a better picture of the problems […]
When Chaunie Marie Brusie faced an unplanned pregnancy in her senior year of college, she didn’t know where to turn for help. Now an obstetric nurse, married mother of three, and founder of TinyBlueLines.com, she is working hard to make sure that other young women have resources to help them cope with this unexpected and […]
I believe that God uses people at certain junctures in history to speak to their generations when they’ve lost their moral way. God used Abraham Lincoln to set slaves free in America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for racial equality. Dr. Bernard Nathanson (and many others) exposed the corruption of the abortion industry. During […]
Electronic devices are everywhere. We know about the negative effects of too much TV, but now kids are watching videos in the car and accessing games and social media on computers and mobile devices. There was a time when kids would snuggle up with a good book to read or have their parents read to […]
This week in Confirmation class we talked about the Rosary, and about how prayer is an important part of Christian life. Here are some of my favorite books on prayer and the saints. 33 Days to Morning Glory by Michael Gaitley. This “do-it-yourself” retreat is a wonderful introduction to Marian devotion (including the Rosary) and Christian […]
This week I started teaching a class to prepare a small group of teens to be confirmed at the Easter Vigil this year at St. Basil the Great Parish in Kimberton, PA. So for the next few months — through Lent — I’ve decided that “A Mother on the Road Less Traveled” will be taking […]
Have you ever found a really good series of kids’ books, something the kids love to hear read aloud and to re-read on their own (or for our kids, to leaf through and look at the pictures again), but wished that there was something more in them than a light adventure story? I love reading […]
Why should your family have sacred rules and what should they be? Those are the questions Tim and Sue Muldoon set out to answer in Six Sacred Rules for Families: A Spirituality for the Home (Ave Maria Press, 2013). As the Muldoons state, “Rules keep everyone on the same page; rules help us plan for […]
Even those who have a great relationship with their own mothers can appreciate how the mother-daughter bond colors the way they parent their own children. Suddenly and without warning, we begin channeling our own childhood soundtrack in recipes, songs, and other traditions — for better or worse (“Because I SAID so…”). In Mothering Without a Map: […]
“Vice prevails and impious men bear sway.” Such was the prevailing ethic during the Roman Republic’s demise. Meanwhile citizens were compelled to witness the onset of the “greatness” of the tyrannical era of Caesars. In America too, national greatness has been reduced mainly to status as a military superpower exerting global cultural influence. To restore […]
Each time I make something for dinner that one or both the children don’t like, the familiar refrain resounds: “Tell us the story of the baked beans!” When I was about six or seven, my mother made homemade baked beans for dinner, which I refused to eat. After an hour of watching me poke at […]
In Handle with Care, Picoult refers to a “language of loss” that parents and children endure in the most intimate family relationships. Within adoptive families, these losses can be especially complex — if for no other reason, because of the number of people involved in the family bond. As parents, however, we must be willing to see – and […]
I usually avoid marriage-help books like the plague because, in general, I find them far removed from the reality of married life. “Theology of the Body” is beautiful and the ideal, but at least in my sixteen years of experience, has relatively little to do with the ins and outs of getting up every day, […]
At Ave Maria Press, I enjoy working closely with authors to help them “develop their craft.” Rewriting and platform-building are two of the most challenging tasks for any writer, so I am always looking for helpful resources. Vinita’s new book, The Art of Spiritual Writing, is one I highly recommend for those new to the spiritual […]
Resolve to read “By What Authority?” in 2014.
To kick off my first “Book Whisperer” column, I thought I would share some wonderful adoption resources. If you have other recommendations, why not send me a note? My first favorite is Ten Days and Nine Nights by Yumi Heo (Random), for families with older children who are awaiting the adoption of a younger sibling (in this case, […]
