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A Baby Changes Everything

In the quiet of night, a young mother holds her baby to her, admiring his fingers and toes, exploring the features of his face. Her son is new to this world, a gift from God. She is like every other new mother, filled with wonder and exhaustion and, perhaps, fear. She is very young. Is […]

Magnets and Christmas

  Magnets and Christmas   “Why are you writing about my magnets?” my son asked with squinty-eyes and raised lip, as if the words tasted foul, the picture of teenage contempt. “ ‘Cause there’s a spiritual parallel,” I replied casually, glancing up. “Like what,” he spluttered incredulously, half-laughing, half-choking on his mother’s latest foolishness. I […]

One-Year New-Testament Reading Plan

Only a few days remain until the new year begins. If you are pondering a spiritual journey, you may want to consider starting to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as explained here: Through the Year of Faith with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. May I also suggest a read-through of the New […]

Thank You for Coming!

  When I entered this world, my Blessed Mother and her most chaste spouse, Joseph, welcomed Me with loving arms, eyes and hearts. A choir of heavenly angels surrounded and serenaded us! My heart leaped for joy when the humble shepherds came and paid Me homage. I smiled! We waited. But none of the religious, […]

Christmas is a Time for Christians to Engage with the World

Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,’ was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force Him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. […]

For Those Who Suffer at Christmas

As we begin the Christmas season, we contemplate in earnest that manger scene. The One who was all light emerged from the darkness of the womb. He who was perfect Love entered a world in which, in just a few short months, his parents had to flee their home in order to keep him from […]

Pope in Financial Times: “No Bowing to False Gods”

A Pope in the pages of an ordinary newspaper? As a columnist? Never happened before. But it happened yesterday. Pope Benedict was asked by the Financial Times of London to write a brief essay for them related to his new book on Jesus, and he agreed. His essential message to London and the world: do […]

Open to…Miscarriage?

During Advent my thoughts always turn to ultimate things — waiting, longing, begging, pining for answers to ultimate questions, to redemption — and I always think about pregnancy. Like many women, I do not even know how many children I have that did not live to birth because I used contraception for many years before […]

Poem: “Wisdom and the Wise”

Wisdom and the Wise When Wisdom came to us He was but a little Babe, Which startled the studious So clouded in reasoning grave. Three wise-men seeking Wisdom Studied long the celestial map In hope of a foreign Kingdom Revealed by the slightest hap. So answering a starry petition That seemed to be heaven sent, […]

Robert Bork and Grove City College

On a dark February afternoon in 1988, 25 students in a U.S. Constitutional History class waited expectantly in a little-used dining hall on the campus of Grove City College (in Grove City, Pennsylvania) for a special guest lecturer to arrive. I was the professor in charge of that class. Through the doors of that meeting […]

Christmas Thoughts, 2012

The gentle spirit of Christmas brings a sense of fresh promise and renewal every year. The remembrances and commemorations of the birth of an innocent baby have a softening effect. Christmas provides a respite, even surcease, from the stresses, bruises, frictions, and pressures of everyday life. Indeed, this annual event reminds us that children are […]

Weekly Wits 12/21/12

ObamaCare Mandate May Force Little Sisters of the Poor to Leave U.S.

The Obama administration’s HHS mandate may force the Catholic Little Sisters of the Poor to cease their U.S. operations, according to Sister Constance Carolyn Veit, the religious order’s communications director. The Little Sisters currently provide group homes and daily care for the elderly poor in 30 U.S. cities. Sister Constance told The Daily Caller that the Little Sisters […]

The Time of Giving and the Giving of Time

Christ is quoted, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Therein is one of life’s toughest lessons. How do we teach our children the habit of giving? We know that social modeling is a powerful teacher. If we lecture our children on giving, yet portray a life of miserliness, there is little chance […]

About the Operation

“About the Operation” (author’s note: the following story is an adaptation of a short story by Ernest Hemingway entitled “Hills Like White Elephants.”)   They sit quietly together in their house. He has a beer; she has nothing. A look passes from man to woman. “I don’t see why you’re upset baby. You seemed fine […]

The Five Worst Moments for Life and Family at the United Nations in 2012

As we look back over the year 2012 here are five of the worst moments for human life, dignity and the family at the United Nations. 1. World Health Organization Guidelines on Abortion The World Health Organization has always been ambiguous about its position on abortion. This year they left no doubt as to where […]

Sandy Hook: the View from Mars

This week, in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook, we’ve been hearing it over and over again, even more than we do at other times: children are precious, we say. They’re our most valuable natural resource. Indeed, Tim Beamer, a cousin of Dawn Hochsprung, late principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School, was quoted […]

The Season of the Unexpected

I was putting our younger daughter to sleep, and as we snuggled in the chair, I started singing:  “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire . . .” She picked up the tune and sang the next line:  “. . . Jack Frost sniffing at your nose . . .” Christmas is full of surprises. Especially […]

Are Traditionalists Guilty of Heresy?

The Year of Faith is in full swing, a year during which the Holy Father is encouraging the faithful to undertake an exploration of the Council documents with renewed vigor. Bravo! The simple fact that far too few among us have actually taken the time to read the conciliar texts is one of the primary […]

Testimonies of Heaven

Earlier this year I went to the WPXI television studio in Pittsburgh to tape an interview. The technician who escorted me inquired, “What are you here to discuss today?” When I replied, “heaven,” he asked, “Have they found it?” As he correctly reasoned, the discovery of heaven would indeed be newsworthy. Thoughts of heaven are […]

The Empty Manger

During Advent, Christians gather around the Manger, as yet empty. “Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay,” the Church’s liturgy prays. Just as the Baby in the Manger represents for us the greatest Gift God brings, so the emptiness of the Manger represents the deep needs of the human heart — needs that not only we […]

The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker

There is a well-known passage in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (book I, chapter 2) that runs thus: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and […]

An Advent Tale: What’s On Fire?

Dutifully, Catholics go on the hunt each year for the highly coveted, purple and pink candle ensemble vital to any serious Advent Wreath. I’m eighty-seven percent sure that I buy a replacement set after Christmas in anticipation of the following liturgical season,  proudly lauding myself for thinking ahead, taking advantage of the sale price, and […]

The Gift of Celibacy – Its Meaning Today

If you mention the word “celibacy” on your local street corner today, you will probably not get a favorable response. It will more than likely spark a conversation about recent tabloid news involving sex scandals, homosexuality, or other negative publicity. Or, it may conjure up images of monasteries, cobblestone streets, and oil filled lamps. And […]