The Venice Film Festival awarded a special jury prize Saturday to Paradise: Faith. The film is part of a trilogy; Strand Releasing has acquired the U.S. rights and plans to release it early next year. Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows: One of the hallmarks of cultural charlatans is the propensity to insult […]
Okay, just for the record here is the profile. I am white, a US citizen, in my mid 50’s, a grandmother, and a practicing Catholic. Rosaries, prayer books, medals, scapulars and other such paraphernalia are from time to time located on my person. I know a few other women who fit that profile and while […]
The headlines in Massachusetts are telling a grim story that is repeated all too often in America. When voters in that state go to the polls in November, they will decide whether or not to approve a measure known simply as “Death with Dignity.” The proposed law “would allow individuals who have been diagnosed with […]
If there is one area of life most people can change in order to return to the Shire, in a metaphorical if not literal sense, it’s their eating habits. You can live in a 20-storey high-rise in Manhattan or Paris and still adopt a Hobbit lifestyle when it comes to eating. That’s because Hobbits are different from […]
My switch from selfish feminist “have-it-all” career woman to “open-to-life” Catholic homemaker undoubtedly represents an extreme conversion of heart. Like many young women today, I grew up in a culture that told me I was in control of the number of children I would have, and that marriage was whatever I wanted it to be […]
But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:33) Are you a believer? I’m not asking if you’re a Democrat, a Republican or an independent. I’m asking if you believe in God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of the living, not the dead. The […]
The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) filed a 22-page Reply to the Government’s opposition of its motion for a Preliminary Injunction to stop implementation of the HHS mandate. The Law Center’s motion was filed on behalf of Legatus, a nonprofit organization of Catholic business leaders and Michigan-based Weingartz Supply Company, and its owner Daniel Weingartz. […]
Editor’s note: For Greater Glory comes out on DVD on Tuesday, September 11th. In light of this, Leticia Velasquez interviewed Eduardo Verastegui, one of the film’s actors. Velasquez: Eduardo, when I interviewed you in 2009 in Connecticut, you mentioned wanting to do a film about the Cristeros. Tell me how you got involved in For […]
The main newspaper in the city near where I live is the Edmonton Journal. The September 3rd 2012 edition carried a short entry under the title PRIDE PARADE PREMIER. It was accompanied by a photograph of Alberta’s Premier Allison Redford wearing the rainbow sash. The entry said: “Premier Allison Redford attends the Calgary Pride Parade on […]
One of the main criticisms of the market economy leveled by people of faith is that the market thrives on competition, incentivizing the voracious and oppositional features of human existence. Walter Rauschenbusch captured this concern in his classic exposition of what he called “the law of tooth and nail” in Christianizing the Social Order (1912). “The moral […]
There is a saying about the Liturgy: “Say the black and do the red,” as written in the missal. Recently the Adoremus Society, which publishes the Adoremus Bulletin, sent out a survey asking for responses about the way the Liturgy is celebrated in parishes around the country, especially after the changes made in 2011. The […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 50:5-9; Psalm 116:1-6,8-9; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35) Developing the Gift of Discernment “Get behind me, Satan.” (Mark 8:33) Wouldn’t you hate to hear Jesus say these words to you? You can just imagine the look on Peter’s face when Jesus rebuked him. He must have gone […]
A woman asked me how to start a Bible study for her friends in her parish. After that a young college girl inquired about starting a Bible study in her sorority. That was followed by a mother wanting to begin one, in her home, with her friends. It got me thinking…How many women would like […]
Recently an Egyptian Muslim posted a YouTube videotape of himself cursing Islam, its holy book, the Koran, tearing the latter to pieces and throwing it in the garbage. Excerpts of what he said follow: There it is, Allah’s book, this is the basic catastrophe. I don’t know what day it is of this disgusting month […]
It was a glorious day. Autumn was in the air. An armada of white, puffy clouds floated on a horizon painted deep, crystal blue. For our family of eight, it was one of those very rare, short breaths between frenetic summer and school activity. The only thing planned was church. Stepping outside the first time […]
Please forgive me for waxing apocalyptic, but lately I’ve been thinking an awful lot about the end times prophecy that speaks of how those who refuse to worship evil will be impeded in the free exercise of commerce simply because of their beliefs. Why, you may ask? In case you haven’t noticed, that persecution is […]
The election season is in high gear, and it is my personal priority between now and November 6 to educate and mobilize as many voters as possible to make a difference in the voting booth for the protection of our unborn brothers and sisters. Our family of ministries at Priests for Life is busy publicizing […]
For the average practicing Catholic, dating can be really fun. After all, you’re young, ready to discern marriage, and maybe even ready to start a family of your own. But when it comes to the questions of dating non-Catholics, a lot of questions begin to surface. What are their opinions about the teachings of the […]
The battle at the Democratic convention to exclude God from the party’s platform is no minor moment. Do not underestimate what transpired there. And while it speaks to so many things, at many levels, it reminds me of the recent battle within the European Union to exclude God from the EU constitution. That comparison is […]
This week I read a very disturbing article titled “New prenatal test is bringing eugenics back to Germany” , and I could not help but think of the famous quote from American philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” This month a new prenatal blood test for Down […]
Dear Anthony, The way you speak about marriage, I think I can say I have never seen it in anyone’s marriage, least of all my parents. All my family’s marriages were bad, unhappy. So, how can I expect to be happy? And please do not mention God! Sadness is the key to being truly happy. […]
As we celebrate September, a month dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, we observe three feasts this month that call us into a more devoted relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This month, we celebrate: September 8 – The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary September 12 – The Most Holy Name of Mary September […]
Representative Tom Akin of Missouri made the national news recently because of his comments about abortion in an interview with a local radio station. He stated, among other things, that he believed abortion is wrong even in cases of rape. He has since been criticized in the media by his opponents, the president, and women’s […]
Thanks to media, American Catholics will soon be treated to another sad chapter in the story of clergy sex abuse. In fact, that may already have happened. Without little advance notice, the trial of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City, Mo., for supposedly not moving fast enough to tell authorities about a troubled priest […]
