Category: Featured

What We Can Learn from Pope Francis' Example
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What We Can Learn from Pope Francis’ Example

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I want to reflect upon the election of our new Vicar of Christ, Francis from a view of application to our own lives. What is the raison d’être of a person being a witness, a living testimony? Is it to cause admiration, or is it primarily to inspire others to emulate him or her for […]

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Balance: Gratitude and Grace-Filled

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As the mother of two lively boys, athletic boys, theater-loving boys, exploring boys, immersed-in-everything boys, I am forever seeking. Forever balancing. Forever juggling. Forever discerning. Activity versus stillness. Sound versus silence. Society versus solitude. I still, now for fleeting moments, still, have a measure of control over the feeling, the tenor, the rhythm of my […]

Remembering Jerome Lejeune
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Remembering Jerome Lejeune

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Clara Lejeune Gaymard has a “servant of God” as a father: Jerome Lejeune, the French geneticist who discovered the cause of Down syndrome. Lejeune, who died in 1994 at age 67, was outspoken against legal abortion. He was named the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life shortly before his death by Pope John […]

Pope Francis' First Angelus Address
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Pope Francis’ First Angelus Address

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On Sunday, March 17th, 2013, Pope Francis delivered the first Angelus address of his pontificate.  Given that he spoke before and after a Marian prayer, the Angelus, one should not be surprised that Our Lady was invoked in some way. He shared three pertinent things regarding Mary. 1.  Pope Francis relayed the story of an […]

Funeral Cortege - Hugo Chavez - March 6, 2013
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Preserving Hugo Chavez

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The far left has never been shy about venerating its heroes.

Baptism and Prophecy
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Baptism and Prophecy

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In addition to sharing in Christ’s priesthood in baptism, the Catechism also tells us that we share in Christ’s prophetic office.  The purpose of a Prophet (and hence Christ’s Office of Prophet) is something that is frequently misunderstood within Christianity today.  The average answer will be that a prophet is essentially a divine fortune teller […]

In the Footsteps of Saint Peter
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In the Footsteps of Saint Peter

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There have been some remarkable occurrences in the Catholic Church in recent days. And while numerous articles have been written about them, a couple of stunning realities occur to me based on the identity and invaluable worth of a single human being. These events have affirmed once again that God is in charge of the […]

Protect
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Protect

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Yesterday a new pontificate officially began. The essential message in the homily given by Pope Francis to open his pontificate draws on the work and image of St. Joseph, spouse of Mary, head of the Holy Family. And that message is to “protect.” This message is important at a time when the figure of the […]

It's Spring! So...Should you Celebrate the Equinox?
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It’s Spring! So…Should you Celebrate the Equinox?

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Today is the first day of spring because it is the day of the vernal (spring) equinox. Okay, just a quick review of your high school astronomy.  In summer and winter we have solstices — the summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year.  […]

John B. Tabb - Priest-Poet
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Tabb’s Poetry XI

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Seven poems by John B. Tabb.

Spiritual Growth: The Healing Process
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Spiritual Growth: The Healing Process

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This is a reflection I wrote after viewing Spiritual Growth in Tough Times which centers around the healing process. Sister Joyce Rupp discusses the process of healing with the analogy of the seasons. We all want to live in the spring and summers of our lives but we have to live through the difficulties of […]

Sisters of Mary Compete on The American Bible Challenge
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Sisters of Mary Compete on The American Bible Challenge

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Television is discovering the Bible makes for good viewing.  In addition to The History Channel’s airing an epic 5-part Bible series, the second season of The American Bible Challenge game show begins this Thursday, March 21 at 9 pm EST on GNS.  Hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, this fast-paced, one-hour game show pits Bible loving groups […]

Idol Hearts
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Idol Hearts

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“You have put into my heart more joy than they have in abundance of corn and new wine.” –Psalm 4:7 I pray this psalm once a week for night prayer and each time it strikes my heart in a profound way. I am not quite sure I identify with the joy that come from new wine […]

Murder Trial Begins into ‘House of Horrors’ Abortionist
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Murder Trial Begins into ‘House of Horrors’ Abortionist

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Abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who ran the “House of Horrors” abortion clinic in West Philadelphia that was shut down after an FBI raid in 2010, faced the jury for the first time Monday in a case with high stakes: Gosnell faces the possibility of the death sentence if found guilty. Gosnell, 72, is facing capital murder […]

Marthas and Marys
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Marthas and Marys

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“As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left […]

Post-Abortive Mothers Come Back With the Truth
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Post-Abortive Mothers Come Back With the Truth

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In the 16th Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke there is the parable of Lazarus who, hungry and covered with sores, begged for food at the gate of the house of a rich man. Lazarus “longed to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table,” and “even the dogs came and licked […]

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The Joy of Mary’s Marriage to Joseph

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Mary and Joseph’s marriage didn’t exactly get off to an easy start.  They were engaged and Joseph had promised not to “defile” Mary, because she was a consecrated virgin.  He was really only marrying her because, in that day and age, there was no security in being a single woman. And then she turned up […]

Christ Icon - Alpha Omega - IC XC
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A “Catholic Year” Leads to the Catholic Church

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On February 17, 2013 — the First Sunday of Lent — I was enrolled in the Rite of Election to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. It was not a decision I entered into lightly; after all, as a Protestant minister, this decision amounts to essentially walking away from my career up to […]

Reflections for Sunday, March 24, 2013
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Reflections for Sunday, March 24, 2013

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Palm Sunday Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9,17-20,23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14–23:56) Allowing the Power of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus to Transform Us It is you who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer a kingdom on you. (Luke 22:28-29) Today […]

Will I Get Time Off in Purgatory If I Take My Kids to Mass?
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Will I Get Time Off in Purgatory If I Take My Kids to Mass?

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My husband and I have three young boys (Joey – 5, Nicky – 3, Ritchie – 11 months). These kids are my heart and my favorite people on the planet, but they are the reason that we haven’t heard a homily in five years. When Travis and I were expecting Joey, we were blissfully unaware […]

Group Marriage is Next, Admits Dutch ‘Father’ of Same-Sex ‘Marriage’
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Group Marriage is Next, Admits Dutch ‘Father’ of Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

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Boris Dittrich, the homosexual activist called the “father” of the political movement in favor of Dutch same-sex “marriage”, has admitted that group marriages of three or more people, is the next, inevitable logical step in the dismantling of the western world’s traditional marriage laws. In a video interview with Yagg, the French online homosexual magazine, […]

Finally a Francis
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Finally a Francis

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Congratulations to the former Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina, who is now Pope Francis. He deserves our best wishes, but even more than that, our prayers. He will have a difficult task in a world that clamors for change, while God’s truth and the gospel never change. I am very happy at the name Cardinal Bergoglio […]

Parenting Teens: Where to Draw the Line
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Parenting Teens: Where to Draw the Line

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ANALYSIS/OPINION: Mom-blogger Ursula Hennessey, writing last week at OnTheCulture.com, questioned the lax supervision provided by too many parents of teens. A recent story in her local paper recapped an alarming incident in which nine high school students were found in one of the teen’s garage, drinking beer and setting up for an evening of drinking games. […]

Afflicting the Comfortable
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Afflicting the Comfortable

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He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothersor your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, […]