Sometimes a writer will say things that are so outlandish that even my grandmother, God rest her soul, would have been angry. Now, mind you, Bertha Tekla Baldi was never one to raise her voice, but the meandering gobbledygook of Mr. David Hampton, editorial director of the Mississippi’s Clarion Ledger, might have even gotten a […]
? Ryan Lefebvre is hopeful that [this] Major League Baseball season[…] will be a winning one — but his hopes extend far beyond the diamond. Lefebvre, the television announcer for the Kansas City Royals, began a broadcasting career during his freshman year at the University of Minnesota in 1992 when he called football games on […]
The Red Hook section of Brooklyn recently renamed a street “Seven in Heaven Way” to honor seven firefighters who died trying to rescue victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center. The street was given this new name because the men who died—Joseph Gullickson, Brian Cannizzaro, Salvatore Calabro, Thomas Kennedy, Patrick […]
Some of the perks of being a Catholic blogger all these years have been the friends I’ve acquired and the lessons learned from them. Stamina, fortitude, and grace, are the gifts of these friends during my short career as a writer of which I am forever changed. One of these new friends is Donna-Marie Cooper […]
“[S]ome things must be said, and there are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice” Ayan Hirsi. In her best-selling autobiography, Infidel, Somali-born writer, politician, and activist Ayan Hirsi catalogs a lifetime of grievances against the Muslim culture and religion. Throughout the book, Hirsi laments the West’s reticence to deal honestly with the egregious […]
Among those doing excellent work on G. K. Chesterton is Joseph Pearce, the brilliant Brit who is a scholar at Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida. Pearce, like Dale Ahlquist, is unearthing all sorts of gems from Chesterton’s writings. Pearce recently came to Grove City College in Western Pennsylvania, where he offered an intriguing European […]
Despite what other people think, Tracy Christianson insists that she is not a painter. It’s not that she refuses to acknowledge her God-given talent, but that her portraits are pencil drawings, not paintings. “People are usually surprised to find out that my portraits are drawn with [Prismacolor brand] colored pencils,” says the Seattle artist. “Most […]
Earlier this month, NBC reminded us of the power of good television. In the opening segment launching its coverage of the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, NBC aired a stunning montage of images meant to conjure a sense of pride and patriotism for America, a nod to the tournament’s location at Congressional […]
Dads, when you let the National Education Association, Hollywood and the cast from Glee raise your daughters, you shouldn’t be surprised if they turn out to be self-absorbed, painted little Paris Hilton wannabes. As Doug Giles, columnist and host of the nationally syndicated Clash Radio program puts it: “Fathers, don’t let your babies grow up […]
Super 8, written and directed by the prolific TV/movie guru, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Star Trek prequel, Cloverfield), is a collaboration with his hero, Steven Spielberg (who similarly started very young shooting “movies”). Actually, Abrams has known Spielberg since he was 15, but that’s another story. Super 8 is a semi-autobiographical story—set in 1979–about a […]
On Tuesday, May 10th, together with two co-workers, I headed down to Menomonee Falls, WI to attend a promotional screening of the movie Courageous. Courageous is the fourth production of Sherwood Baptist in Albany, GA. Sherwood’s previous productions are, “Flywheel,” “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof.” Facing the Giants was Sherwood’s first big hit, followed by […]
Are you looking for a book which will help your family increase in virtue? Catholic Family Bootcamp is an ideal resource for assisting your family not only in reinforcing the spiritual virtues, but also in strengthening emotional bonds with your closest family members. “I have only one goal in providing you with this devotional book: […]
Congressman Anthony Weiner, who last week apologized for his reprehensible behavior, has now resigned from the House of Representatives. I have only a few things to say about this whole fiasco. First and foremost as a society we have lost our understanding of how wonderful shame can be. What? Shame is a good thing? Yes, […]
It’s always painful to read a book that makes you feel like you have failed/are failing in every way that truly matters. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it. I felt that way after reading School of the Family by Chantal R. Howard. Howard has had an eventful life. Although still only in her twenties, […]
©Heidi Bratton Photography When you review a book that was written by someone you consider a friend, it is always a little difficult. You want your friend to look good, but you want to be completely honest in your assessment of his or her work. Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship was written […]
A “Woman Screams for Help After TSA Molestation,” and the “Texas Pat Down Ban May Be Back.” Those are just two of the headlines breaking around the nation this morning, as summer travel picks up—and so do concerns over excessive airport security. How much indignity are you willing to endure if told it’s for safety’s […]
Dr. Paul Kengor: Dr. Gary Smith, describe the thesis of your new book. Dr. Gary Scott Smith: My book examines two primary questions: how have Americans conceived of heaven, and on what basis do people gain admission to heaven? My thesis is that while Americans’ beliefs about the grounds for entry to heaven have remained […]
Perhaps about five years ago I began to hear the word “random” with increasing frequency, usually from a teenager, and often as a one-word commentary on life’s apparent incongruities. FreeDictionary.com defines “random” as “a concept of non-order or non-coherence in a sequence of symbols or steps, such that there is no intelligible pattern or combination.” […]
Have you ever considered what might have happened if Jesus had come to earth not as God, but merely as a man, whose sole purpose was to heal suffering people from their infirmities? If so, you might be intrigued by Sympathy for Delicious. Its premise is simple: a young musician, who has lost his career […]
I have to confess my initial reaction to the headline was to roll my eyes in contempt for yet another government entity that I assumed was trying to legislate good parenting. After all, it’s a trend that has gained traction of late. Some states are mandating the content of school lunches. Others have laws about […]
Reflecting Upon Attending a Christian Concert On Friday, February 4, I attended the Rock and Worship Roadshow at the Resch Center in Green Bay, WI.[i] I went because the artist Matt Maher was playing and I hoped to have the opportunity to meet and talk with him.[ii] I am glad to say that I was […]
I am one of the apparently few people who have seen There Be Dragons, Roland Joffe’s film about St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei. Only it isn’t really about Josemaria at all. It’s about Spain. The photography is beautiful and the settings are wonderful (so good that they made me homesick for Spain, where […]
Christians have a deep ambivalence about Ayn Rand that probably draws as deeply from the facts of her biography as from her famous novels. When the refugee from the old Soviet Union met the Catholic William F. Buckley, she said, “You are too intelligent to believe in God.” Her atheism was militant. Rand’s holy symbol […]
Heaven and hell are in the news and on Americans’ minds a lot lately. Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back is currently number one on the New York Times Best Seller List for nonfiction. It details a four-year-old’s near-death experience as told to his pastor father. […]
