One of my favorite scenes in Return of the King is Sam and Frodo sitting together as Mt. Doom erupts around them. When Frodo says, “I am glad you’re with me Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things,” my heartstrings are always tugged because Frodo is reaching for the soul friendship. Love ‘till death. Boundless […]
Twenty-four years ago on Halloween, 42-year-old David Arias began a journey to hell. Ouija boards, drugs, assaults and sacrilege were a regular part of his life. After nearly four years of engaging in extraordinary evil in the pursuit of power, Arias had enough and slowly began to turn back to God for salvation. After an […]
When I was ten years old I had a direct encounter with a ghost. My brother and I were playing in our bedroom, which was in the attic, of our three-story house in New Jersey. There were steep stairs leading up to the bedroom from the third floor walk way. My brother and I were […]
I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1984. In the early 1990s a Canadian woman with ALS tried to introduce to Canada a thin edge of a deadly wedge of physician assisted suicide. Sue Rodriguez was an active campaigner from her wheelchair. “Whose body is this anyway?!” she said. I […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Wisdom 11:22–12:2 2nd Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11–2:2 Responsorial: Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14 Gospel: Luke 19:1-10 Opening Ourselves to God’s Transforming Love and Mercy The Lord is gracious and merciful. (Psalm 145:8) From the general audience of Pope Francis, January 13, 2016: “In Sacred […]
In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Meredith Isaksen wrote about her later-term abortion—the death of her second child—as if it were an act of mercy for her, her family, and the preborn child who died during the abortion. Her sense of her son’s death as an act of compassion toward him and […]
By Mónica Zorita de la Morena NEW YORK—“Even if work has to be done silently, it is better to be here than not be here.” These are the words of Bishop Giorgio Bertin, the apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, Somalia. The prelate, who has been in the region for almost 40 years and also has responsibility […]
The last time I checked, the mortality rate in this country was still 100%. To die usually involves unavoidable suffering. I don’t think these things will be changing any time soon. This is not a cause for anxiety or dread. Christ our Savior has made death and suffering into pathways to eternal life. “Precious in […]
In today’s electronic world of tweets and status updates, communicating with brevity is everything. 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person: Helping Singles Find Each other, Contemplate Marriage, and Say I Do by the Ruth Institute’s Jennifer Roback Morse and Betsy Kerekes speaks to the internet generation in a language and format that keeps up […]
By Maria Lozano NEW YORK (Oct. 19, 2016)—Qaraqosh, a formerly major Christian town on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain has been liberated as part of the campaign to liberate Mosul, Iraq’s largest city. Before ISIS overran the Plane in the summer of 2014, Qaraqosh, which is also knows Baghdida, had a population of 50,000, the great majority […]
A leading consortium of reproductive health advocates announced its intention to drop “post-abortion care” from its title and to begin campaigning for “comprehensive abortion care” instead. At an event in Washington announcing the shift, one advocate said that sustaining post-abortion care was never the goal. “Post-abortion care” was meant to be an “entry point.” She […]
At the conclusion of his brilliant essay, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” Lewis was right: The holy Eucharist bears the body of Christ and your neighbor bears the image of God. Your neighbor may not behave in […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Responsorial: Psalm 34:2-3, 17-19, 23 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14 Living a Life Grounded on God’s Love, Not on Judging Others I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity. (Luke 18:11) Have […]
Last Tuesday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rejected an attempt to legalize surrogacy throughout Europe. By a narrow majority, the representatives of the 47 Member States rejected a recommendation aimed at regulating the selling of female gametes and renting of women’s wombs. This was the third attempt to normalize surrogacy by […]
What would you look like if you could see yourself as Jesus sees you? Who would you be if Jesus healed all your wounds, both physical and emotional? For most of us, the answers to those questions are a far cry from who we are today. We have been beaten down by the weight of […]
That all children have a mother and a father is a biological fact. That they have a right to know and be raised by their parents, where possible, is enshrined in the UN’s most widely ratified human rights treaty. A UN event last week highlighted how those rights are undermined by efforts to redefine the […]
I am not an avid fiction reader. If I’m lucky I make my way through one or two novels a year. More often than not my nose can be found in theological texts, most likely Mariological in nature. My reading of novels might make an increase as I recently discovered the wonders of Audible and […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Exodus 17:8-13 2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14–4:2 Responsorial: Psalm 121:1-8 Gospel: Luke 18:1-8 Being Vigilant, Persistent, and Faithful in Prayer When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8) What a peculiar way to end this parable! Why […]
In Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus we read: “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; […]
A new study published by the Guttmacher Institute’s in-house journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Rights targets the conscience rights of Catholic hospitals and health care workers that opt not to provide abortion and contraception services that run contrary to their deeply-held beliefs. According to the study’s authors, Catholic doctors and health care workers should […]
NEW YORK (Oct. 6, 2016)—This week, children at more than 2000 schools across Syria are drawing their images of peace and writing messages to the political decision-makers of the European Union and the United Nations under the motto “Peace for Children.” More than one million children are also signing a petition. This appeal for peace […]
Supporters of LGBT rights at the UN are preparing for the most important vote on their agenda since 2008. In November the UN General Assembly must decide whether to approve a controversial new UN post to enforce special new rights based on the sexual preference and behavior of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17 2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Responsorial: Psalm 98:1-4 Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19 Allowing Jesus to Bring Wholeness and Healing To Our Lives I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the Lord. (2 Kings […]
