Has Lent got you feeling grumpy? Deprived? Hungry? Has politics got you acting like a real bear? Are you snapping at people? Is the long wait for the first buds of springtime transforming you into someone from whom people walk away? Your heart, soul, body, and mind all need something. But what? If only The […]
Pope Francis set tongues wagging again with his latest comments that contraception might be used to prevent birth defects caused by the Zika virus. The secular media seem delighted by the implication that the Catholic Church’s traditional opposition to artificial birth control might be eased. In response to reporters’ questions during his flight from Mexico […]
A new peer-reviewed study,1 conducted in collaboration with the Population Research Institute (PRI), shows that women who use Depo-Provera are significantly more likely to acquire HIV. Due to funding from organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and agencies like the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Depo-Provera is the most widely used form of […]
Get this: Wealth, fame and success don’t make us happy, but strong relationships do. That’s according to a 77-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development that I read about in The Independent. The study began in 1938 with 724 men from two distinct groups. The first group included 268 sophomores from Harvard. The second group included […]
She gets their first-ever presidential primary endorsement.
In the Book of Isaiah the prophet recounts his vision: He saw God, sitting before him on a “high and lofty throne”while the Seraphim stationed above cried out: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. All the earth is full of his glory.” Then at the sound of that cry “the frame of the […]
A hallmark of the modern age is an obsession with individual rights. It seems that every other day somebody is demanding his or her rights. Some people even demand rights that are not even written down anywhere or recognized by any legislature or court. Like I say, it is a hallmark of the age in […]
The hidden camera footage reveals the Indian restaurant is crowded, and the ambient noise of fellow diners all around makes it hard to hear. But Gianna Toboni, an investigative reporter from HBO’s documentary show VICE, slowly begins to understand what is being offered to her by a woman sitting across the table. Toboni is in India to […]
In my job, I supervise financial advisors for a large firm. I primarily focus on the best interest of clients, with special consideration given to the many laws and federal regulations governing the industry. I monitor a variety of actions using the phone, the computer and face-to-face interaction. Occasionally, I take extra time and make […]
Of the many issues debated about perennially, few have the potential to save lives like defunding nation’s number one abortion provider–Planned Parenthood. Defunding Planned Parenthood could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. In 2013 alone (FY2013), Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the U.S. affiliate of Planned Parenthood, claimed the lives of 327,653 […]
By John Newton NEW YORK–A Bishop in Ethiopia has expressed his horror after the Feb. 18, 2016 torching and looting of a Church compound by the very people being helped by priests and women religious. In a message sent to international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Abraham Desta described how Gighessa […]
My comment was met with a blank stare, a look of confusion. Fortunately, it only lasted a few awkward seconds. I was visiting my nurse practitioner for a nagging abdominal pain. Having concluded that I should have a CT scan (a detailed, in-depth x-ray) she had asked me if there was any chance I might […]
Billy Joel’s delightful song “New York State of Mind” begins with the words “Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighborhood.” The song reflects on being home, accepting reality, and getting over the desire to get away. That’s what I like the most about it because the “neighborhood” is our community, our […]
The 2016 Golden Globe Award for Best Picture was The Revenant — from a novel based on a true incident — starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a hunter-trapper who, mauled by a bear, is left to die by his companions. There’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the basic premise. I can’t really […]
Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders thinks he can wave a magic government wand, impose lots of new taxes and government programs and make the world grand. Reality has another notion. Take the minimum wage. Bernie says he’ll raise it to $15 an hour, more than doubling it. If I worked at a fast-food restaurant for […]
Marital satisfaction tends to take a dip once that first baby comes home from the hospital (or out of the bathtub, birthing center, etc.). This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Let’s face it. Kids, particularly newborns, are difficult. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying, or a grandparent. But you can maintain a happy marriage […]
In the Foreward to Divine Mercy for Moms: Sharing the Lessons of St. Faustina, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC refers to St. Faustina’s “Prayer of Transformation from Within.” In that Prayer, “St. Faustina asks to be transformed into a living reflection of God’s mercy, specifically praying that her eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, and heart be […]
Have you ever delighted in listening to an album with beautiful renditions of songs such as What Child Is This and Silent Night, only to be abruptly taken out of your delightful state by a tacky track such as Jingle Bell Rock? So many CDs have wildly varying songs, possibly because of a desire to […]
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s grand plan to tackle the global humanitarian crisis and achieve recently adopted new UN development goals includes abortion and LGBT rights. The Secretary General’s report “One Humanity: Shared Responsibility,” asks governments to include abortion and LGBT rights in their efforts to tackle the humanitarian objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals, […]
A study published in 2012 in a publication called “Prenatal Diagnosis” said that as many as 90 percent of all pregnancies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome resulted in “pregnancy termination,” i.e. abortion. Other studies indicate that about 6 percent of all abortions occur because the baby will have birth defects. A Guttmacher Institute […]
Recently I published the article “Hello, Church? Anybody Home?” I shared some of my exasperation towards Catholic churches who fail to make returning calls and emails a priority. The response, as you might guess, opened the proverbial can of worms. Comments made by readers echoed their frustration across the country through both personal experiences and […]
By Julieta Appendini MEXICO CITY—During his visit to Mexico, Pope Francis has expressed his concern for people’s social problems, pain and suffering, and he has shared optimistic messages of hope and comfort. His smile graces all his language and his expressions of love permanently underscore his words. “The tears of those who suffer do not […]
Ephemeral Hope I possess an intellectual spirituality that makes me shy away from an outward display of faith-filled emotions. I prefer internal intensity. I also fear how such emotions are temporary. Ephemeral feelings should not be the foundation of the spiritual life. Although, we certainly benefit from the good times, those windswept moments of conversion […]
