All of my daughters are athletes. It isn’t always easy when my daughter’s varsity basketball team plays after the boys, and the once full gym empties as the girls start their game. It is heart breaking, but they understand. Women are by nature not as athletic as men and so, for many, not as exciting […]
In delving into information theory as a foundation for quantum mechanical theory, I encountered again John Wheeler’s revolutionary thesis that we create the past by observing it–“The Participatory Universe“. The thesis rests on John Wheeler’s “It from Bit” hypothesis. In what follows I’ll summarize that thesis by examining the “three questions”, four “no’s” and […]
Bringing Lent Home with Pope Francis: Prayers, Reflections, and Activities for Families by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle Ave Maria Press, 2015 Bringing Lent Home with Pope Francis is designed to “provide and encourage a daily occurrence of family prayer and communication as you move through this holy season together. By following the suggestions regarding how your […]
As Catholics, we often think that we know Jesus. After all, most of us have been hearing the stories of his life since we were small children. They are part of who we are, and that is good. But sometimes, we can feel too familiar with the stories and we start to tune them out […]
Lent comes early this year. February 10th is Ash Wednesday! That’s just three weeks away, folks. So instead of waiting until the last minute and grasping at your old standbys (giving up chocolate or God forbid, coffee), why not plan ahead using our convenient list of resources below? Make this your most spiritually fruitful Lent ever! Reprinted with […]
Full of Grace is an art-house, indie film about the last days of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Bahia Haifi) on earth. The story is interwoven with the plight of Peter (Noam Jenkins) who–although the Church is growing–is faced with heresy upon heresy, distortions of the Faith in thought and practice (“they are picking apart the […]
Genetically-manufactured babies, gene-manipulated human embryos, human-animal chimeras, human clones—all science fiction, right? No, these various types of laboratory-manufactured human embryos are already reality. Last spring, Chinese scientists announced they had experimented with genetic manipulation of human embryos, and scientists in the U.S. want to join in the experiments, also recently approved in law in the […]
The Letters is another film about the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (acted with aplomb by Juliet Stevenson) — specifically that part of her life where, posthumously, personal letters that revealed her prolonged dark night of the soul surfaced. The stunning revelation is chronicled in the book Come Be My Light–The Private Writings of […]
I’m a new priest and I have a lot to learn. Of course, working in a parish affords me many opportunities to work with different and diverse groups of people. A group of mothers approached me a few months ago and asked if I would be willing to lead a book discussion for them. I […]
“The magisterium of the Church takes a direct interest in the question of evolution, because it touches on the conception of man, whom Revelation tells us is created in the image and likeness of God…. “Pius XII underlined the essential point: if the origin of the human body comes through living matter which existed previously, the […]
If you already know how the Hunger Games saga ends, you may want to skip this third installment — unless you are fond of tedium. The beginning gets off the ground well enough with lots of dialogue and ominous music that is just setting the stage for future action scenes. However, said action scenes drag […]
On October 12, 2013, “Pope Francis revealed to the world his special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. . . He spoke of Mary as the ‘new Eve’ who unties the knot of Eve’s disobedience.” In May 2014, Marge Fenelon traveled to the Holy Land with the […]
In honor of National Adoption Month, here’s my review of Jaymie Stuart Wolfe’s excellent discernment guide, Adoption: Room for One More?, from Pauline Books & Media. A few years ago, between babies #3 and #4 (or #4 and #5), my husband and I contemplated adopting a baby girl from China. We were moved by stories […]
Spotlight is the recounting of the Spotlight team of intrepid investigative reporters at the Boston Globe who broke the Catholic Church’s clergy sex abuse story in January 2002–mainly concerning the Archdiocese of Boston. For starters, this is not a Church-bashing film, even though it easily and rightfully could have been. It’s an accurate, stark, almost […]
This book is a must read. It is the beautiful story of what could be considered a miracle birth, and as such it can help couples who may find the going very difficult when confronted with a very challenging pregnancy. Waiting for Eli chronicles this spiritual journey from fear of one’s personal limitations to self-abandonment […]
The Jubilee Year of Mercy is right around the corner. Why not take advantage of that year to work on your marriage? In Intimate Graces (Ave Maria Press, 2015), Catholic media maven Teresa Tomeo (Pastore) and her husband Deacon Dominick Pastore examine how practicing the works of mercy can bring out the best in marriage. […]
This article is a reflection on how music has shaped my devotion to the Church. There will be links to my favorite music: liturgical, hymns and other. I’d be grateful if readers would note in comments their favorite music. I won’t say much about the psychology of music or how music affects the brain. A […]
Jem and the Holograms is a live-action tween movie based on the animated TV series of the same name that aired from 1985-1988. Although I have been informed by some fans of the TV series that the film is not cleaving exactly to the TV version, it is nonetheless a delightful, “family-oriented” film that is […]
From Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. comes this exciting and moving film based on the real-life event when a gold and copper mine collapses, trapping 33 miners underground for 69 days. Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Phillips star. In theaters Nov. 13.
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as […]
Hyena Road is the latest film about the war-with-no-end-in-sight: Afghanistan. Canadian writer-director-actor, Paul Gross, delivers what is now a standard, sand-infiltrated, camo-dappled screen adventure in the nouveau tradition of Jarhead, Hurt Locker and American Sniper. Hyena Road looks and feels pretty much the same as these movies, except that this tale is exclusively about Canadian […]
Among the many posts and articles on the canonization of St. John Paul II last year, there were few comments about his efforts to effect a rapprochement between the Church and science (notice the upper case and lack thereof). The term “rapprochement” has been chosen with care: “an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations” (Oxford English […]
The Hail Mary is such a beautiful prayer in honor of our Blessed Mother, one every Catholic knows. Sarah Reinhard, a convert to the faith, describes the Hail Mary as her “blankie prayer . . . Just as my children cling to their worn-soft, faded blankies, so I cling to my Blessed Mother’s skirt through […]
There is a dangerous philosophy emerging in our fast-paced, technology-driven world of which most people are totally unaware. And yet, when Francis Fukuyama, economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, was asked what idea posed the “greatest threat to the welfare of humanity,” his answer was this philosophy. And yet I am […]
