Have you ever given or received the silent treatment? Chances are good that most of you have. I think this AT & T commercial about the silent treatment is very clever, and will give you a good laugh. Like most jokes, there is an element of truth to it. In particular, the angst that accompanies […]
Gustavus Adolphus is known as one of the greatest kings Sweden has ever had. He was very proud of Swedish power, and during his reign he triumphed over armies of what today are known as the nations of Germany, Poland, Denmark, Finland, modern Sweden and other areas. He ruled very powerful armies, but was a […]
By now, most Catholics are aware of the impending HHS mandate the Obama Administration will be imposing upon faith-based organizations, requiring them to pay — through insurance companies — for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. If they choose to not pay, a fine will be imposed per employee, which could cost institutions like the Catholic Church millions […]
I do not know what it’s like to lose a child and I hope and pray I never do. All my children, and now grandchildren, are healthy and strong. My family is truly blessed and I try not to forget that fact. There are expectant parents who face the terrible reality that their baby will be […]
In case you didn’t notice…. With George W. Bush out of office and a Democrat in the White House, the secular media stopped its handwringing over the president mentioning God. With Rick Santorum’s surge, the hysteria has started again. Every religious utterance by Santorum will be a cause for apoplexy by the liberal press. It […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18; Psalm 116:10,15-19; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10) Knowing and Living the Gospel Message that God is for Us “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) With these ten words, Paul begins to summarize the points he has been making so far […]
“At once, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:12-13). These are the words written by Saint Mark that begin the story of Jesus’s works following his baptism in the Jordan River […]
“Wait right here while we recheck your bags,” advised airport security to my daughter. We stood there in stocking feet, staring blankly. Suddenly, she giggled and leaned in close whispering, “I know what it is.” I pointed out that voluntarily disclosing that information is usually the best policy in these situations. “I know what it […]
Last Thursday, a State Department press release announced the delegation they would be sending to the the 56th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women beginning this week at UN headquarters in New York and running two weeks. The two co-leaders of the delegation are Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the United Nations and Melanne […]
It’s what makes you, unconsciously, rock back and forth, shifting your weight from one foot to the other, cradling your little baby, while waiting in the one out of 32 currently open grocery store lanes. It’s what lets you ease your minivan onto the highway at the precise merging speed while refereeing a third row […]
Some thoughts on U.S. policy toward Syria on the occasion of the just-ended “Friends of Syria” meeting in Tunisia: Since the end of the cold war, many Americans have a sense of being so strong, they don’t need to think about their own security but can afford to focus on the immediate humanitarian concerns of […]
The great English writer G.K. Chesterton once wrote: “The family is the test of freedom; because the family is the only thing that the free man makes for himself and by himself.” But if what Chesterton says is true, then Canada fails the test, because the Canadian family is no longer free. In the past […]
The Bible is a war manual. You don’t have to read very far before you discover that there are, as Chuck Colson once noted, “kingdoms in conflict.” The spiritual life is referred to as a battle, and (as descriptions of Armageddon clarify) Jesus is not just Lord of your life, He is a Lord of […]
I am a creature of habit. I tend to exercise the same way, eat the same things, and engage in the same activities. When I go for a walk, I usually take the same route. My work, though varied, normally involves the same type of tasks. I get up and go to bed at the […]
Yes, America, you are beautiful indeed, and blessed in so many ways … But your greatest beauty and your richest blessing is found in the human person: in each man, woman and child, in every immigrant, in every native-born son and daughter. For this reason, America, your deepest identity and truest character as a Nation […]
In today’s fuzzy moral landscape, it is quite unpopular to even speak of sin, never mind condemn it. It’s even more politically incorrect to talk about God taking stern action against sin and those who promote it. But that is exactly what the story of Noah and the flood is all about, as we are […]
Thus far, in evaluating Mr. Lyons’ ‘Next Christian’ vision (part 1, part 2) we have seen how his vision fails to include the Church that Christ established. His vision precludes the Mystical Body of Christ, and supplants it with ecclesiastical amateurism: a weakly-structured, free-floating Christianity that lives and dies on spontaneity. His low-churchmanship does not […]
Reading James Drane’s article (and corresponding cartoon) today in Erie’s Times News (“Catholic Church should change its policies on birth control”) made us want to cancel the paper… again. Of course, it demands a reply, but why bother? What good does it do? Where is the Church’s official reply? But then I’m haunted by the awareness that if […]
Three decades ago, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher implemented a policy called “privatization” to rejuvenate the moribund economy of the United Kingdom. Like the United States today, the cost of a too-large government was sapping the vitality of the U.K.’s economy. The private sector was staggering under the heavy tax burden needed to fund the public […]
I once did not understand. So now, instead of getting upset when others don’t understand, I see it as an opportunity to inform or at least to pray for them. When I came to understand Catholic teaching on love and marriage, my heart grew to include the unborn children I once thought I did not […]
I’m not strong enough. Imagine if these were the words you told Christ when He asked you to take up your Cross and follow him. St. Mark’s Gospel reminds of us this very notion where Christ provides us with His unique blueprint on discipleship: And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and […]
Seven states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration today seeking to overturn the mandate that religious employers provide contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients to their employees as part of their health care plans. The state attorneys general of Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas filed suit today in U.S. District Court, arguing […]
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13 During the presidential contest of 2008, Barack Obama inspired millions of followers with his trademark slogan “Yes we can!” Against the odds, the little known Senator from Illinois went on to defeat the 600 pound gorilla in the 2008 Democrat primary – Hillary Clinton […]
A couple in Texas is suing a sperm bank in New England because their child has cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a devastating disease that is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. People with cystic fibrosis have mutations in both their copies of the CFTR gene; one mutation from their father and one mutation […]
