Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (1 Kings 19:9,11-13; Psalm 85:9-14; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-23) Learning to Listen to God’s Voice The Lord was not in the earthquake. (1 Kings 19:11) How often have you seen a movie where God appears amidst lightning bolts and angelic choirs and then speaks in a terrifying, […]
Living my vocation is hard. So, so hard. However, when I truly invest myself completely in loving and serving these humans that God has given me, the graces flow and joy abounds. Its true, what they say: If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. To that end, over the last few years I’ve been seeking […]
Action, fantasy, westerns, or any movie including a hero and a villain will usually peek my interest. The Marvel films captured my imagination’s child-like side. The side which wants to believe in the ultimate triumph of good through the feats of a few broken yet resilient individuals who refuse to admit defeat for no other […]
One of the greatest privileges of my life was to work under Pope St. John Paul II at the Vatican during the late 1990’s at the Pontifical Council for the Family, which fosters the pastoral activities of the Catholic Church on behalf of the family and the right to life. Both in public and private conversation at […]
My earliest recollection of Caitlin was in her mother’s womb. Her mom and I were both pregnant with daughters. Information we did not know at the time, but would later bring great delight. This “wasn’t our first rodeo” as they say, I was on child number four and Caitlin made six. The girls were born […]
When John Paul II used his first years as pope forming the Theology of the Body, he meant it as a springboard for further reflection by theologians. In Theology of the Body, Extended: the Spiritual Signs of Birth, Impairment, and Dying, Susan Windley-Daoust takes that invitation and runs with it. John Paul II focused on […]
The lamps are lit again and Europe is at peace; but it is the peace of senescence.
Only one miracle of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels–the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. I once heard a homilist give what he said was the real meaning of the story: the people in the crowd took out food they were hiding under their cloaks and shared it. Jesus’ preaching inspired the melting […]
As faithful Catholics, how exactly are we living out the Eucharist, both during and outside of Mass? This is the basic question posed by Pope Francis during the second part of his Catechesis on the Eucharist . In the first teaching, the pope reminded us about our real communion with Jesus and his mystery during […]
Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week was July 20-26, with the theme “Natural Family Planning: It’s Worth It. Join the Revolution!” – taken from an address of Pope Francis at World Youth Day 2013. The Holy Father asked the assembled youth to see marriage and family life in a new light and “to be revolutionaries” […]
Anne Roback Morse also contributed to this article. The language of the e-mails is hyperbolic and hate-filled. They come from population control groups that are indignant about the House of Representatives Billwhich would re-institute the Mexico City Policy. They call it a “Mean-spirited, anti-women agenda.” And they say it’s “Playing ping-pong politics with women’s lives,” “Out of […]
When I left my corporate job in California to enter the convent I had to tell my boss I was planning on leaving at the same time he was handing me an offer for a substantial raise. It was a difficult moment. I felt bad for my boss but I was also keenly aware that I looked […]
“A small error in the beginning leads to a multitude of errors in the end” – Aristotle, De Coelo The small error in this case is the assumption made long ago by the members of the United States Supreme Court that they had the power to play God. First, the court ignored the science on […]
This past year, I was privileged to celebrate a Passover seder with some close friends during Holy Week. It was both a reminder of the persistence of the faith of Judaism in its own right and of the roots for the new Passover that Jesus established, through his institution of the Eucharist, and through his […]
A Frugal woman. Sounds kinda boring, doesn’t it? Like that woman wearing an ill-fitting jeans jumper that looks like it’s from 30 years ago, buying only day-old bread, never getting anything nice or new, and spouting off about how everyone should grow and grind their own flour, like her. Um yeah, I really don’t want to […]
Boyhood, the new movie written and directed by Richard Linklater (Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly, The Before… Trilogy with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) is a one-of-a-kind, “big idea” film. The lives of screen Mom, Dad, son and daughter are followed for twelve years. Literally twelve years, having been filmed for about a week each […]
In our last article, we demonstrated how Dr. Alan Schreck, as many orthodox Catholics do, erroneously applies the hermeneutic of discontinuity to the use of the terms “heresy” and “heretic” before Vatican II and the non-use of those terms in the Council. We will now do likewise with the term “church” as it was used […]
On March 20, 2004, Pope John Paul II delivered an address to an international congress on “Life-sustaining treatments and vegetative state: Scientific advances and Ethical Dilemmas.” The pope dealt directly with the issue of doctors withholding medical treatments and nutrition and hydration (food and water) from comatose patients. I was happy to see the pontiff […]
When calling for the reform of the Sacred Liturgy, the Second Vatican Council said the following: The rites should be distinguished by a noble simplicity; they should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetitions; they should be within the people’s powers of comprehension, and normally should not require much explanation. (Sacrosanctum Concillium 34) When […]
In the June 2014 issue of Columbia Magazine, published by the Knights of Columbus, Alton J. Pelowski offered a profile of Myles Connolly (1897 – 1964), a former editor of that publication. A graduate of Boston College, he would serve in the Navy during the end of World War I, work as a reporter for […]
Once I had dinner with another priest. As we were eating we talked about the Bible. “I preach the same homily every weekend,” he said. “Really?” I asked. “And how are your collections?” While we were at it, he justified himself by declaring that it was no longer necessary to preach on the Old Testament. […]
“Liberal” and “conservative.” The definitions of these terms are seldom stated. Usually they are just presumed. Often people call “conservative” those who like old-fashioned things and “liberal” those who favor the latest ideas, trends, and values. But for the Christian, the ultimate question is not personal preferences of style, or whether something is old or […]
I came upon my old Bible the other day, the one I read through from cover to cover twice, a TEV Protestant Bible, now incomplete to me, but still generating a holiness from within even when I touch its cover. I looked at the many scotch tape fixes, the numerous margin notes, the multiple dog […]
The highest human rights court in Europe shattered hopes that it would judicially impose same-sex marriage when it told a male to female transsexual and his wife that a civil union should be good enough for them. European human rights law does not require countries to “grant access to marriage to same-sex couples,” according to […]
