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Do We Bring our Faith to the Sport Field?

I am sure you remember this song we all have sung so often at Mass: “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord; We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. “And we pray that all unity; May one day be restored. “And they’ll know we are […]

Church Architecture 101, Part Four- Renaissance Reality Check

It is impossible to discuss Renaissance architecture without discussing Leon Battista Alberti. He is hailed as the quintessential Renaissance man, and I suppose he is.  He was very worldly.  The illegitimate son of Lorenzo Alberti, it seems that he had a serious inferiority complex and set out early to prove his worth.  One could say […]

Summer Offers Chances to Learn Independence

What’s the right age to let children ride their bikes to friend’s houses? Isn’t it just safer to drive them? Should I worry about what other parents might think? Riding a bicycle used to be the standard mode of kid transportation, especially in the summer. I recall hopping on my bike on golden summer mornings […]

The Struggle to Offer Hope and Help in Syria

A graphic account of the deepening human suffering and violence in Syria has come from a priest ministering to people in one of the areas worst affected by the conflict. In a report describing the devastated city of Homs, the priest details his desperate struggle to provide basic food, shelter and medicine to more than […]

House Passes Nationwide Ban on Abortions After 20 Weeks

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would restrict all abortions nationwide to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. The “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” (H.R. 1797), introduced by Arizona Republica Trent Franks, would end abortion after the point when scientists agree unborn children can feel pain. In a nearly party-line vote, the […]

Tales from the Empty Nest: Would That Wood Could Talk

I’m busy repainting two pieces of furniture that have already served three generations of my family — a 3-drawer bureau and a tall dresser. Over thirty years ago I was getting married and in need of more storage space for my new home. My husband and I became the happy recipients of the bureau from […]

Dying for the Truth

It never ceases to amaze me when people who refer to themselves as Catholic parse their words when discussing basic teachings of the Church. The impression is given that there is no such thing as indisputable truth, but rather an array of positions that are all equal and legitimate. While such attitudes may bring peace […]

Tabb’s Poetry XXIII

Five poems by John B. Tabb.

How to Host a Catholic Party

Some of the fondest memories I have of this past year are the dinner parties I hosted at my house on liturgical feast days. They are memories of friendship, laughter, communion and a full heart. I thought I had come up with this wonderful idea of hosting saint day parties on my own, until I […]

Immigration and the ‘Best and Brightest’

One of the selling points for comprehensive immigration reform is the claimed benefits of granting a special kind of green card to all foreign students earning advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This argument is being made by corporate leaders, including those from the high-tech sector, who argue that it is a […]

200,000+ People Join Pope Francis for Mass Celebrating Evangelium Vitae

Hundreds of thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square and down the main Roman street that leads to the Vatican Sunday to join Pope Francis in celebrating a Mass commemorating Pope John Paul II’s 1995 famous encyclical, the ‘Gospel of Life.’ Known by it’s Latin name ‘Evangelium Vitae’, the encyclical clearly enunciated the evil of abortion, […]

Poem: “They Won’t Forget Him”

They Won’t Forget Him You have so few friends anywhere A man who’s marked with ill-respect, For some a failure in affairs, Associates are false, defect Who wants to know a man of grief Admired by the stupid poor? Only some revolting thief And those who stink of fish, the boors You’re lower class, invisible […]

Children in Church- Some are Missing the Point

Sometime ago, my father and I went to get some fast-food for lunch. While there, a mother and three daughters came in.  My father became silent, and discreetly watched them order their carry-out and then leave. “Do you know them?” I asked, when they’d left. “No. Not really” he said, then proceeded to tell me […]

Book Review: Rapunzel Let Down

Please note: Spoiler alert. Like her other novels, Regina Doman’s new book is based on a fairy tale, this time Rapunzel. As usual, Doman puts a modern spin to the story.  To her credit, though, she is able to give us a totally different story filled with twists and turns while at the same time […]

Don’t Cry For Me, America: Comparing Argentina And The United States

If we fail to preserve the institutions of the republic, the American dream will be in grave danger.

What Every Catholic Using Social Media Should Know

Do you regularly read Church documents from the past? If you don’t, you should start. Many people talk about Vatican II, and will very, very quickly give their opinion. And yet a large majority of those same people have never read all the documents, if any at all. I want to study Inter Mirifica. Church documents […]

China Ratchets Up One-Child Policy; Ignores Calls from Population Experts

Recent reports from the Guangdong province show coercion in China’s infamous one-child policy is once again on the rise. Women in the southern city of Huizhou, which has a population of 4 million, are being targeted for sterilization. Those who have one child are being forced to wear IUDs. Those who have two children are […]

Mary is Not as Far Out There as We Think

“I hate to admit it,” my friend confided in me. “But, I really have a difficult time feeling close to the Virgin Mary. She’s just so far out there.” She paused and revealed the rest of her dilemma to me. “I have an even harder time with the Church’s teaching that we should imitate her.” […]

Poem: “The Priest”

The Priest The Priest, the portal in this world Through which the Christ will pass, Unfolding like a snow white rose In priestly hands at Mass. Our Lady’s consecrated son One chosen from all men To baptise, marry, lay to rest And heal us of our sin. His sacrifice no equal knows His value beyond […]

Yankees First Baseman Mark Teixeira on the Importance of Fatherhood

Mark Teixeira is widely known as one of the best all-around players in baseball. After being awarded the 2000 Dick Howser Trophy, college baseball’s equivalent of college football’s Heisman Trophy, he was taken in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft in 2001. His professional career includes a World Series championship, two All-Star Game […]

Promise of the Father

Fatherhood is definitely not an easy topic to think or converse about for the majority of people in our current age. Many wise people have stated their belief that the downfall of modern society is directly linked with the erosion of the true meaning of fatherhood. Normally I don’t like to put all of my […]

Knowledge? Power?

The Perfect Body of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Which woman has the perfect body? Unquestionably, it’s the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is “the masterpiece of embodied creaturely existence,” according to Donald Calloway’s The Virgin Mary and the Theology of the Body. This idea is logical, but it sounds strange to us. What most people mean when they talk about a perfect body is […]

Pius XII, Richie, Potsie, and the Fonz: Happy Days 2.0

“A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, […]