“About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God’s Word. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk is […]
When my wife and I were dating, she would travel quite a bit as a part of her job. On one occasion, we had a conversation about whether she would be able to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday during her travels. She explained that where they stayed in the city she was going to, there […]
This month is a momentous one for saints in the Catholic Church. After naming two new doctors of the church this past Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will canonize seven new saints on Oct. 21. Among them are Marianne Cope, a Franciscan sister who founded hospitals in New York before nursing lepers in Hawaii, and Kateri […]
Today begins the Year of Faith 2012-2013, on the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the 50th anniversary (“quinquagenary”) of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. In Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, his address on the first day of the Council, Bl. John XXIII proclaimed the heart of […]
In 1958, a congenial old man, Angelo Roncalli, was elected to the chair of Peter. He was to be a caretaker pope, someone to keep the ship steady while the cardinals identified a more long-term leader. That smiling old man soon stunned the world by calling the first ecumenical council in nearly a hundred years. […]
In a recent article in The National Catholic Reporter Michael Sean Winters criticized vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan for failing to present a plan to help the poor, and purported to criticize Vice President Joe Biden for not presenting a way to protect the unborn. I found the usual obfuscation of Catholic moral teaching that […]
Sometimes I wonder if anyone really thinks through what it means to be a human being anymore. There are so many signals being transmitted hither and yon these days that it makes the mind spin—and very few of these signals are grounded in natural law or even common sense. For example, I read a headline asking, “Is […]
History offers insightful comparisons and contrasts between past and present. A generation or so before the birth of Christ, Rome lost her republic to political and cultural decadence. Although reformers emerged in the political and literary spheres, their efforts failed and ancient democracy faded into oblivion. Whereas in America, the game is not quite up. […]
Four was our magic number. Before my husband and I got married, we’d both agreed we wanted four children, and since gender couldn’t be planned, we didn’t care what kind we’d have. For the first two years of our marriage, I was busy preparing for the bar exam so we’d held off on kids until […]
This week Joel Osteen’s message, “Trust God’s Timing,” was focused on the attitude that we display while we are waiting for God to answer a prayer. Joel used the examples of someone praying for healing, praying to find a spouse, praying for the return of a wayward child, or praying for promotion at work. Joel said […]
Team Obama insists that next month’s presidential election is “a choice, not a referendum.” It sure seems to be with respect to the two candidates very different views on the Constitution. Mitt Romney makes plain at every turn his commitment to that document, while Barack Obama’s conduct in office has marked him as the post-constitutional […]
Delegations from European Countries and the United States suffered a setback last week when the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution affirming a positive link between traditional values and human rights. The European and U.S. delegations view traditional values as threats to women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual persons. This is the third resolution […]
The mission statement of Philadelphia’s Charles Carroll High School, displayed prominently on its website, offers a hopeful vision of an educational institution: “Providing all students with the academic, technological & social skills needed to be productive & contributing citizens in our society.” This week, the specific mention of “social skills” and citizenship likely sounds like […]
I was recently told I have cancer. We often hear that other people have the dreaded “C” word but now it is my turn. Initially it was hard to get my head around the news. The oncologist at the Cross Cancer Institute was unsure how to approach my treatment. My situation is complicated by the […]
Sunday, October 7, 2012 was “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” It is based on a simple question: May the government filter, edit, or veto the contents of a sermon? No court has ever heard a case regarding whether the Internal Revenue Service can do so. Yet every day – and especially in these weeks prior to an […]
Mitt Romney gave a generally fine speech [yesterday] on the Middle East. Sensibly, he criticized the Obama administration for its Benghazi shenanigans, for the “daylight” with Israel, fecklessness vis-à-vis Tehran, and the cuts in military spending. Very justifiably, he called it “time to change course in the Middle East.” But I worry about three specifics. First, […]
CBC President Jennifer Lahl interviews Alana S. Newman, the founder of the Anonymous Us Project about an event that took place in New York on October 1. Jennifer: Last week I received a Google alert telling me about a charity fundraising event in New York City to raise money for Gay men to have babies via reproductive technology […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Wisdom 7:7-11; Psalm 90:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30) Seeing Ourselves as Jesus Sees Us “The word of God is … sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12) What a vivid image! God’s word is razor sharp, able to cut through our innermost thoughts. It can expose the […]
167 years ago today, Thursday, October 9, 1845, the Anglican priest Rev. John Henry Newman was received into the Catholic Church by the Italian Passionist priest Rev. Dominic Barberi. Today, both Fr. Barberi and Fr. Newman are beati of the Catholic Church: Bl. Dominic of the Mother of God was beatified by Pope Paul VI […]
The Queen of Heaven Visits Adele Brise On October 9, 1859, the life of a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise was forever changed. It was on that day she received her third apparition of the Blessed Mother, who identified herself as the Queen of Heaven. Our Lady’s specific request of Adele was to pray for […]
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article on The Perils of Texting While Parenting. The point it was trying to make was simple. Parents are spending too much time on their mobile devices and not enough time paying attention to their children. Also, while there is only anecdotal evidence, it is believed that this […]
With his Apostolic Letter of October 11, 2011, Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI declared that a Year of Faith would begin on October 11, 2012, and conclude on November 24, 2013. The first day of the Year of Faith marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the twentieth anniversary of the publication […]
The man that envisioned a better way than destroying human embryos to get embryonic-like stem cells has won the Nobel Prize for Medicine. Dr. Shinya Yamanaka developed the technique to take an adult cell and reprogram it to an embryonic-like state as a way to avoid the destruction of human embryos. Dr. Yamanka’s reprogrammed adult […]
Many of the 316 cities participating in 40 Days for Life this fall are holding 24-hour vigils. That’s 960 total hours! It is a very powerful witness to know that before any couples show up for an abortion and long after the last abortion worker leaves, there is someone there praying and bearing witness to the community. For […]
