Straight from My Heart is a collection of fifteen short stories and seventy-three poems, approximately chronological, with each story being independent and individually rewarding. Yet all of the pieces collectively draw the reader to something larger. The stories are engaging, at times fascinating, and always thoughtful. Patricia Devlin’s stories follow an autobiographical journey through the […]
With the recent declaration by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it would seem that there is an indisputable decision to allow women to serve in combat units in the future. To argue to the contrary might be an exercise in futility—much like closing the barn door after the horses have bolted—but this is not so. […]
This week I happened across this YouTube video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVUZzgswJaY) in which two strapping young Dutch men experience the joy of childbirth … well, two hours of simulated labor pains. That’s almost the same thing, right? Sure. In his classic work Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen acknowledges that the mystery of suffering will remain […]
Defenders of traditional marriage may not believe it, but the Supreme Court’s apparent intention to decide two important same-sex marriage cases by midyear may be a stroke of good fortune for their side. This timing means the Supreme Court’s first head-on tangle with this issue almost certainly will come before President Obama gets an opportunity […]
In this, 40th year of legalized abortion in America, Hollywood and Planned Parenthood want you to know abortion is no big deal. That’s the message we’re to infer from the recent episode of NBC’s hit show “Parenthood” titled “Small Victories,” in which the teen character Amy casually decides to abort her baby because, as she […]
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It’s a rhetorical question, really. I could also ask: what’s hanging on your wall; what are you wearing around your neck; what does your bumper sticker say? Once a month, I visit a patient who lives in a B’nai B’rith sponsored family apartment building. There’s no mistaking that all the families living there are practicing […]
No democratic nation has ever voted in the majority to legalize abortion as such. Not one. Legalized abortion is always imposed by totalitarian or authoritarian regimes, or by elites who manufacture court cases designed to reverse duly created laws that actually protect innocent human beings. As the death toll rises in those nations that have […]
As the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade dawns, my friends that have adopted children have been posting pictures on Facebook of their beautiful families and thanking the birth mothers for their courage and sacrifice. These adoptive mothers asked everyone to choose adoption over abortion. As I contemplated praising my friends for telling their story, […]
When I received a review copy of the newly-published book, Facing Infertility – A Catholic Approach, I was a bit surprised there wasn’t already a Catholic book which specifically dealt with the topic of infertility. When I searched online, I could only find secular or Christian books on this subject. Jean Dimech-Juchniewicz’s new book is […]
In the debate over abortion in the United States, two women’s names appear more frequently than any others: Jane Roe and Mary Doe, the plaintiffs in the companion 1973 Supreme Court cases that legalized abortion in the country. With the 40th anniversary of those two cases – Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton – this month, news media […]
In his excellent (although vaguely anti-Catholic) book THE MARKETING OF EVIL: How Radicals Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom, David Kupelian wrote about the Dred Scott Supreme Court case of 1857. The Dred Scott decision denied blacks American citizenship and even questioned their full personhood. Kupelian laid out the case and quoted […]
With Barack Obama’s second inauguration, liberals are touting an altogether new epoch: the end of the Reagan era. Unfortunately, I believe they are largely correct. We are witnessing a period of left-wing ascendance, marked by gay marriage, forced taxpayer funding of abortion, an exploding government class, and big government. As to the latter, Ronald Reagan […]
It is extremely difficult to think about what one might say after 40 years of decriminalized barbarism. Yes, that is exactly what abortion is—and yet most people are blind to the effect it has had on the family and on our nation. Haven’t we heard it all before? Of course we have. Each of us […]
As I write, the weather station says that it’s 1° F, but it feels like -17°F. With the wind chill, it’s expected to drop as low as -30°F tonight. Tomorrow will more of the same. Even with the furnace chugging away, the perimeters of the house are cold. Upon passing by the windows and doors, […]
If you knew beforehand that a gunman planned on going to a kindergarten class at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, would you do everything in your power to avert the violence and save innocent lives? During a news conference on January 16, President Obama expressed that if we could save even one life […]
Just yesterday, I received the homily of a pastor here in my home diocese that spoke powerfully of the strange juxtaposition of the two national events happening this week. Obviously, as of this writing, the first of these events, the presidential inauguration, has already occurred, but when we compare it to the second of these […]
For the Catholic Church and the pro-life movement, Ireland’s steadfast preserving of its laws defending the rights of the unborn has been a beacon of hope in Europe. Ireland has continued to hold the highest birth rate of other country in the European Union, and is one of the very few European countries whose population […]
With the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade approaching, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about a post I read last month over at the popular atheist blog “Love, Joy, Feminism”. The article asserted that most pro-life (or anti-abortion) ads portray photos of already-born babies and pre-born fetuses, while failing to depict the mother. Libby Anne therefore concludes that […]
Has the Sexual Revolution, and the feminist ideology that drives it, pushed men out of universities by undermining boys in school as early as kindergarten? Some writers are beginning to connect the dots between the shift over the last few decades in educational practices from fact-based grading to evaluation based on “non-cognitive” and “emotional skills” […]
From a sermon by Bl. John Henry Newman: It is the death of the Eternal Word of God made flesh, which is our great lesson how to think and how to speak of this world. His Cross has put its due value upon every thing which we see, upon all fortunes, all advantages, all ranks, […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10; Psalm 19:8-10,15; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21) Receiving the Anointing of the Spirit Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:21) Returning to his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus was invited to speak in the synagogue. His reputation as a wonder worker […]
