Survey after survey shows that Americans are more disillusioned with politics than ever before. They don’t trust that their representatives truly have their interests or the welfare of the nation at heart, but instead their own ambitions. How long has it been since anyone could say with confidence that the person representing them in Congress […]
“Was daddy involved with us when we were little?” she asked. “Did he want to spend time with us?” I wondered why she was soliciting these questions although I guessed it had more to do with the fathers of the families that she worked for than her own father. As a young adult woman who […]
I’ve facilitated a women’s expressive writing class for almost five years now. My students have been an eclectic group. A small percentage of the students have been marginally literate, while some have their GED or high school diplomas, a few have technical or associate degrees, and others have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. They are […]
The fourth of the Jurassic movies, Jurassic World, is brilliant, in keeping with the tone of the franchise, and great entertainment. The over-the-top trailer should never have shown us the escaped pterodactyls swooping down on everyone. That was a total spoiler and made the film look overblown, which it is not. Jurassic World retains all […]
A Spoken Word Poem by TJ Burdick (Vox et Veritas- The Best line Never Mentioned in Scripture)
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Job 38:1, 8-11 2nd Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 Responsorial: Psalm 107:23-26, 28-31 Gospel: Mark 4:34-41 Trusting the Lord in All Circumstances The wind ceased and there was great calm. (Mark 4:39) Several years ago, a United States Coast Guard cutter was in port […]
For the average layman, much, if not the vast majority of discussions about Catholic traditionalists, Vatican II, and the Reform of the Reform, exists solely online and in the realm of the Catholic zeitgeist. Yet from time to time, we Americans are privy to a real-life disputes amongst the various factions of Catholics. All politics […]
On June 10th, the Pope’s Wednesday general audience continued his catecheses on the family, focusing on the theme of sickness and suffering. Man experiences his own fragility primarily in the family, first as a child and, then, as an elderly person.While family sickness presents obvious challenges, it can also be a source of quiet strength […]
Mk 4:26-34 It is the smallest of all seeds and becomes the largest of plants In his teachings Jesus frequently used parables. The word “parable” is derived from an ancient Greek word that means “comparison.” Parables are like brain-teasers: they compare differing realities and use one example to shed light on the deeper meaning of […]
There are two things wrong with Kennedy’s speculations.
The arts can nourish the human heart and soul and help to build character. Whether dance, music, theater, visual or literary arts, students must approach their chosen art-form with commitment, focus and discipline. Talent and Discipline What about talent? Talent is a gift, the source of inspiration and insight and is crucial to achieve excellence. But it’s […]
A UN report seeking to break new ground for “LGBT rights” left same-sex “marriage” out of a long list of special new rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The UN human rights office published its latest collection of UN expert opinions about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights last week […]
Having my phone fixed a few weeks ago, I had some spare time to walk around by myself in a shopping center I usually don’t patronize. I used to really enjoy shopping. It was a frequent pastime for me and my mom. Now, without her, the bloom is off the rose. Sometimes it’s only a […]
Where do you go when it starts to rain? That and some related “musical questions” have been playing over and over in my mind for the last few months. They have made for some interesting soul-searching. For me, the self-examination began on the road. I have to take three business trips annually, all to Kansas […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading Ezekiel 17:22-24 2nd Reading: Corinthians 5:6-10 Responsorial: Psalm 92:2-3, 13-16 2 Gospel: Mark 4:26-34 Allowing Jesus to Teach Us the Mysteries of the Kingdom To his own disciples he explained everything in private. (Mark 4:34) Jesus spent a lot of time explaining things […]
In Part 1, we talked about how a person knows he’s transgendered. This is important, because we must ask ourselves if as a society we’re going to accept and accommodate individuals’ subjective realities, as we’re increasingly being asked to do with the transgendered. Reprinted with permission from CatholicSistas.com. Bruce Jenner says he’s a woman named […]
Family bonds are the virtue of the family, and poverty is the family’s its most direct enemy. Yet it would be a serious error to mistake the problem with society’s material poverty as a solely material problem. “It is not just a matter of bread.” The family is a benefit to society even as it […]
Of Miracles and Mysteries A little over 20 years ago, shortly after I had decided to enter the Church, I was being catechized by a very learned and wise priest (this was before the days of RCIA classes). As a physicist, I was struggling with the notion of transubstantiation — that by the action of […]
I was 18 when I encountered my first transgender person: Kevin was a sweet young man with a petite frame, high-pitched voice, and feminine mannerisms who hung around the common area of my all-girls’ dorm to avoid harassment and bullying from peers in his all-male dorm across the street. Kevin called himself a “pre-op queen,” […]
From Germany yet again today rises the aroma of dissent. Whether this will ripen into schism or outright heresy will be clear after the conclusion of this fall’s Synod on the Family. Some modern-day princes of the German Church and numerous German bishops are, as did Martin Luther some centuries ago, attempting to heretically alter […]
Heb 9:11-15 The blood of Christ will cleanse our consciences Among the writings that comprise the canon of the Christian Scriptures one work stands in a class by itself: the Epistle to the Hebrews. Each of the thirteen New Testament books is unique but Hebrews defies categorization. Is it a book, a letter, a sermon, […]
If any two issues illustrate the awesome power of public relations campaigns to define important cultural and policy debates, they are abortion and gay marriage. By cleverly framing these highly controversial questions in terms of human rights and social “progress,” advocates have cultivated a social environment in which opposition to either makes you a bigot […]
My dictionary defines apologetics as a “systematic and logical defense of Christianity against its detractors and unbelievers” In 1 Peter 3.15, Christians are told to be ready to give a reason (apologia) for their hope in Christ. Apologetics can draw people to Christ as we read in the Book of Acts with Saint Peter on […]
In one of his last works before his masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky wrote The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. In this story, the narrator goes to another solar system and lands on a planet where the inhabitants are people just like us, but untainted by the Fall in the Garden. They live, the narrator tells us, […]
