I have a bone to pick with Jennifer Fulwiler: she kept me up late for about week reading her book, Something Other Than God. And we’ve got four kids aged five and under, so sleep is at a high premium around here. I wasn’t planning on reading Something Other Than God at all right now. […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 8:5-8,14-17; Psalm 66:1-7,16,20; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21) Being Filled with the Holy Spirit They received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:17) As soon as the apostles heard about God’s work in Samaria, they sent Peter and John to find out what was happening. When they arrived […]
By the time Cain and Abel show up in creation history, Satan had already inserted himself into human affairs and the fall of man. Adam and Eve were now living in a not so happy story of life without the garden, “toiling and suffering” in the outside world. The big lesson to be learned by […]
I am a former zygote. If you are not familiar with biology terminology, a zygote is the first cell that results when gametes (sperm and egg) fuse in sexual reproduction. I teach biology to homeschool students and we discover that many organisms begin as zygotes. Any organism that reproduces sexually starts as a zygote. Humans […]
It may seem as though Pope Francis’ trip to the Holy Land May 24-26 is something far away, both mentally and geographically. Trust me, it’s very close. Sure, he’ll be meeting with a number of dignitaries from positions and areas that don’t directly affect us. But, the main purpose for his trip is to meet […]
“But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God…” – John 8:40 I’ve always been fascinated by the two extreme reactions of people towards Jesus: adoration or desecration. Absolute wonder and awe that sought only to touch his hands or a blinding rage-filled […]
At some point in life each of us finds ourselves at a loss for what to say to God. It is usually at a time of intense trial. The pain of disease, agony of loss, or sting of betrayal leaves us overwhelmed. Our sadness and anger are so acute that we fell abandoned, as if […]
Even for many Catholics who attend Mass on a weekly basis, the Church’s teachings on birth control are often misunderstood — or completely unknown. It can be even more complicated for the faithful when high ranking clergy make confusing statements about these beautiful teachings. One of the tools Human Life International is using to set […]
“As long as you believe in God and try to be a good person, your religion doesn’t matter.” “There are different paths up the same mountain, but they all lead to the peak.” How many times have you heard people speak this way? This is the prevailing wisdom. It’s politically correct. Tolerant. Reasonable. But it’s […]
“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.” –GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy Continuing his Catechesis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis used this week’s lesson to discuss the gift of fortitude. When we consider the Gifts of the Spirit, […]
It is not unexpected, given news of a large recent overall decline in U.S. abortions and abortion rates, but it is encouraging nonetheless to see that the larger downward trend among all women is also being reflected in significantly lower abortion rates among teenagers. The report, “U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions, 2010: National and […]
The highest-ranking U.N. human rights official, Navi Pillay, looked down and fidgeted as Pope Francis delivered an unambiguous pro-life message to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and top U.N. officials. Unborn children are “our brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis told Pillay and her colleagues gathered in Rome for a coordination meeting. Pillay’s office facilitates the work of the […]
While writing my self-published manuscript, New Things and Old: Re-Implementing Vatican II, I came to the realization that Vatican II could only be understood in light of past magisterial teaching and the sources of the Tradition. Taken by themselves the documents could lead even orthodox Catholics to formulate or embrace conclusions that were erroneous and […]
Somewhere along the expanse of rails from New Haven to New York, as I daydreamed during the two-hour train ride to visit my dad in the hospital and take my mom back to the apartment, I realized the accuracy of the term “sandwich generation.” This was my second weekend trip to New York in so […]
It’s only a week now until Pope Francis sets out on his trip to the Middle East. Father Khalil Jaar is already excited. “I was asked whether I could organize two buses of refugees for a meeting with the Holy Father,” the priest of the Latin Patriarchate said proudly. “I didn’t have to think about it […]
Human cloning is here. After years of effort, scientists manufactured human life using the same process that created Dolly the sheep. There is no way around it: The age of human cloning is here—unless we act now to prevent it. Why outlaw human cloning? As the United Nations General Assembly decided in a nearly 3-1 […]
Just in time for Mother’s Day comes a genuinely fun and funny film about the crazy adventure that is parenting, specifically motherhood (with a serving of fatherhood on the side). If you’ve seen the snappy trailer, the movie does deliver on its promise, and there’s lots more LOLs where that came from. But…. Dear Southern […]
Thousands of Catholics and non-Catholic supporters turned out for a prayer service Monday night, processing through the streets of Boston and singing hymns in response to a threat by a Harvard university secularist group to hold a Satanic “black Mass” on campus. Although a statement from the group, the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club, claimed […]
The Chinese Ministry of State Security must have been asleep on the job. The email that appeared in my Inbox read: “It is better to be a criminal in China than a pregnant mother.” Now, I knew that women who get pregnant outside the state plan are often browbeaten or bullied into abortions and sterilizations. […]
What’s the most widely read literature of the 20th century? According to an informal, non-scientific poll (consisting of me and Mom, who happened to be talking about this on the phone), it’s not Pride and Prejudice, or The Lord of the Rings—it’s the cereal box. Now, obviously that’s not because packaging prose is particularly powerful. […]
A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture: “I have told you this so that My joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.” (John15:11) Complete joy sounds unattainable in today’s world; after all, who really has it? People do. Jesus says it’s ours if we remain in His love by keeping His Commandments. As Catholics, […]
The Temple authorities cracked down on the Nazoreans. Peter and the Apostles were rounded up and brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court. The majority of its members favored a drastic sentence. It was the influential Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, who took the initiative of securing their […]
Two anniversaries are coming up, one that inspires, one that reveals the depths of human depravity. Michael Clancy, a photojournalist, has spoken at National Right to Life Conventions, been interviewed by yours truly, and had [has] a story that fairly rippled through our collective conscience. You remember him, I’m sure, for the “Hand of Hope.” […]
The ancients knew we were made for it, we moderns are constantly seeking it: Happiness. It’s often associated with peace, rest, contentment, or completion. It’s the nunc dimittis we all hope to whisper at the end of our day. No matter who you are, where you are, it appears as the Lode Star for all human activity […]
