In the wake of the government shutdown, despite provisions in the Pay Our Military Act, Catholics at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia are being denied religious services. The Catholic priest who serves this community has been prohibited from even volunteering to celebrate Holy Mass without pay, and was told that if he violated […]
Groucho Marx used to tell of a man who went to see a psychiatrist: So you see, doctor, the problem is that my brother thinks he’s a chicken. Well, have you told him he’s not a chicken? No. Why not? Because we need the eggs! As the implosion of Western Civilization accelerates, the once unthinkable […]
Five years ago, I stepped into a room to cover a news story for work. I was flustered because I was almost late getting there. I’m only going to be interviewing children, I thought to myself. It shouldn’t be a big deal. The session began. Fifteen children sat in a circle, an adult with them. […]
The Pope celebrated mass in St Peter’s square this morning in honour of the Marian Day, an event organized as part of the Year of Faith on the anniversary of the final apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima (13th of October 1917). He also consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98:1-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19) Allowing Jesus to Heal us of Spiritual Leprosy Jesus, Master! Have pity on us! (Luke 17:13) Until recently, a diagnosis of leprosy was a death sentence—a long, slow sentence marked by physical deformity, social isolation, poverty, and […]
Some years ago a group of men from my parish were providing escorts and security for an all-night Eucharistic Adoration vigil for life. I drew one of the wee hours. My relief didn’t show up, so I stayed on for some more hours. I brought with me a little book: The Ways of God by […]
There’s a great line in the book: Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know, by Diane Moczar. In writing about the downfall of Rome, she quotes an historian’s description of the Roman Empire before its demise: “a terrifying sluggishness of the whole population.” For me, this phrase denotes aimlessness, a lack of motivation and initiative, a […]
To which America do you belong?
“Personal approval” vs. “Job approval”?
It’s all well and good for a single gal to tell y’all to be good, but when you’re really in love things can get hard. After last week’s post on chastity, some of you might be wondering how on earth people do it. From what I’ve gathered, it generally involves more than just a strong […]
The short answer is we don’t know. But another news story is out on a study that raises more questions than it answers regarding the harm to children born via IVF. From the story: Children born as a result of IVF are a third more likely to get cancer, a major study found. Scientists said […]
God is generous beyond our imagination: not only in the general sense of creating the universe, giving us life, and offering us the gift of faith, but also in the specific sense of making specific promises to specific people. To understand this, just look at the following passage from the Old Testament. You shall therefore […]
As the father of eleven who also knows the heartache of miscarriage, I was moved by a recent post by blogger Stacy Trasancos titled “The Spiritual Abortion Called Limbo,” exhorting even those who accept the longstanding theological opinion of the “limbo of the infants” to please pray for those innocent young souls who die before […]
Every once in a while, educational fads turn toward “back to basics.” Schools emphasize necessary and useful subjects–meaning, useful for getting a job. Math, reading, and science take center stage. Other subjects get cut. In fact, one of the biggest criticisms of the new Common Core Standards is its utilitarian, vocational perspective on education. In […]
A 44-year-old Belgian woman struggling with gender confusion has been legally euthanized after her sex change procedure was botched, resulting in physical deformities she said made her look like “a monster.” Nancy Verhelst was killed last Monday by the same team of doctors who euthanized Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45-year-old deaf twins who asked to […]
A great opportunity to share the faith with both fallen away Catholics and with non-Catholics is to talk about that one central thing that distinguishes the Catholic Church apart from all other religions of the world.
Inevitable. So we are told. Abortion and sexual rights (like same-sex marriage) will become universally accepted, so opponents might as well surrender. Not so fast. Take a look at what is happening in Brazil. Brazil presented itself as a world leader on sexual rights in 2003 when it introduced a UN resolution on sexual orientation […]
Sometimes, I find myself aspiring to be a “contemplative.” But looking at the long and somewhat complex definition in the Catholic Encyclopedia, I wonder if that really is possible for those of us who have to live “in the world.” I won’t bother you with much of that entry in the encyclopedia. Suffice to say […]
Pope Francis: Rupture vs. Change Pope Francis: Ongoing Fallout (Part I) Building on what has been said in the first two posts, we continue with the fallout from the pope’s interview with atheist publisher Eugenio Scalfari. If the pope’s refusal to take the bait on preaching specific moral norms didn’t make many tear their hair out in […]
I worry for young people these days. I know every generation says that about the one that follows, but today’s youth may face a world where simply being human won’t be good enough. Augmentation may be required to participate in society. A cyber-brain here, a bionic limb there with some genetic engineering and a few […]
In a previous article, I outlined my belief that one of the greatest dangers facing Catholicism today is a lack of belief in the doctrine of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. This lack of belief stems from failing to appreciate the wide-ranging conclusions from such an event. I pointed out how this problem has led […]
A recent congressional briefing examined the lethal side effects of the long-acting contraceptive injectable Depo Provera and the targeting of Black and Latina women to receive it. Congressman William Lacy Clay and the Congressional Black Caucus held a briefing to examine a comprehensive report released by the Rebecca Project which details severe health problems from […]
