Being Catholic is a walk with resolutions. Every confession and examination of conscious ends with the resolve to do better. Although real changes don’t come easy, we rely on God’s mercy and begin again after each fall. But add in an addiction and failing becomes habitual and can cause a person feel like he is […]
Congress’ Republican majority is taking its first step in sending pro-life legislation to the desk of President Obama. According to Politico, the House has timed a vote on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to take place on January 22, the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The vote will coincide with the arrival […]
By Oliver Maksan ERBIL, Kurdistan—”Thank you, thank you, thank you:” Suheila, an elderly Christian woman from Mosul was effusive in expressing her gratitude to a group of European visitors. “May God make things easy for you in your lives.” Home for Suheila is the Sports Club Center in Ankawa, where more than 200 Christian families […]
In case you were wondering.
Passing on the faith at home with Marian piety During his installation at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago last November, Archbishop Blase Cupich challenged those in attendance to pass on the faith to young people through their “authenticity of life, where words match deeds.” The message was not just for Catholic teachers and youth ministers, […]
Commentators, politicians, and world leaders often bandy about the word “peace.” But I wonder if there are many in our midst who actually comprehend the true meaning of the word, not to mention how to find it. Webster defines peace as “a state in which there is no war or fighting.” That sounds simple enough, […]
America has always been a nation with great respect for the right of conscience. As a people, we like the idea that a person should follow their heart, go with their gut, do what feels right. Our laws have traditionally followed this course by according deference to individual conscience on a whole host of matters. […]
St. Augustine is famously quoted as teaching that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. The word “restless” captures this truth well, although here in Texas the condition might also be described as an itch that can’t quite get scratched. However it is described the great bishop of Hippo is correct. Our hearts […]
Every year at Christmas time I think of the many people who experience a more acute loneliness that the season has a way of drawing out of those who are literally alone or feel alone, even among their friends and family. It’s an inescapable desire to have that one special person with whom you can […]
Jesus Christ didn’t save us with an idea, with an intellectual program, no. He saved us with his flesh, with the concreteness of the flesh.” -Pope Francis This quote from Pope Francis slipped across my screen as I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed. I didn’t slow down as I was looking for something […]
When was the last time you heard a priest give a homily that mentioned Natural Family Planning? If you are like me, the answer is never. Admittedly, it isn’t necessarily a topic that I would want discussed at a Mass where younger children are present, but there are many times when it would be appropriate, […]
New Year’s Resolutions tend towards the personal: lose weight, take up a hobby, spend more time with the family, get up earlier, read great books, etc. But this new year I beg people to take some time to learn more about bioethics. The stakes are high. Our definitions of life, death, and human dignity are […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7; Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10 Acts 10:34-38; Mark 1:7-11) Jesus’ Baptism and Our Baptism, Our Sharing in Jesus’ Relationship with His Father You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. (Mark 1:11) “He wants to be the bride at every wedding, the corpse at […]
There are those who can evangelize hundreds, even thousand. Radio preachers and televangelists speak to millions. Sidewalk prophets publicly and loudly tell the world the Kingdom is near or here. Still, we can choose to just live our lives quietly, privately trying our best to get to Heaven. Personal, isolated Christianity is just fine. Well, […]
On Nov. 8, 2014, Dr. R.K. Gupta set about performing tubal ligations on 80 women at a mass sterilization camp in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. He completed all the surgeries in less than six hours. Subsequently, dozens of these women fell ill and at least 13 died.[i] An investigation is ongoing but it appears that gross […]
Dear Kevin, Thank you for your continued work on this dialogue. It’s been a pleasure reading the comments from Catholic Lane readers. I encourage anyone with questions or concerns about anything I’ve written here to email me. As a self-described orthodox Catholic, I guarantee that any differences I may have with traditional Catholics are small […]
UN radicals are rightly peeved at their lack of progress. Last year, like in the previous twenty, they did not advance their agenda on abortion even one syllable beyond what they got at the Cairo Conference in 1994. We noticed this a few years ago at the 20th anniversary of the Rio Conference on the […]
Stars are significant in the Christian tradition. For example, God promised Abraham descendants more numerous than the stars of the sky (Genesis 22:17). And yesterday a star played a prominent role in our celebration of the Epiphany when a star guided the Magi to the stable (Matthew 2:9-11). Additionally, the Church has had a longstanding […]
Now the shepherds were not the only ones who visited the Holy Family after Jesus was born. Stargazers from Arabia soon arrived. They stopped off at the fortress-palace of Herod the Great because they needed directions. Men are often too proud to admit when we’re lost but the stargazers swallowed their pride and entered the […]
I’ve noticed that before a colossal spiritual event in history, a slaughter of innocent children occurs. Satan seems to know something is about to happen and strikes out at the most innocent of God’s image bearers. Prior to the birth of Moses, Pharaoh ordered the mass murder of all baby boys (Exodus 1:15-22). At the time […]
For years now, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been a haven for refugees from Iraq. However, a critical limit is in view as the country is also forced to accommodate a huge, and growing, influx of refugees fleeing ongoing war and violence in Syria. Along with Lebanon, the country is threatened by chaos as […]
You cannot count the number of times in your life you have said these words: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” Why do we do this? Why ask Mary to pray for us? Many say “No need to get the Mother involved, just […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6; Matthew 2:1-12) The Epiphany, A Time to Offer Our Gifts to the Lord They opened their treasures and offered him gifts. (Matthew 2:11) Without a doubt, the Magi were big spenders. The gifts they gave to Jesus were about the costliest […]
As Christians around the world got ready to contemplate the innocence of the child Jesus, last week the Russian Orthodox Church took on a UNICEF paper that says children have LGBT rights. The Patriarch’s Commission on the Family of the Russian Orthodox Church released a scathing statement criticizing a UNICEF position paper that urges countries […]
