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The Promise of the Spirit

The Promise of the Spirit

Acts 2:1-11 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT The Gang of Twelve was in the house. The Big Three, Peter, James, and John, Mary the Mother of God, Matthias, the newly ordained Apostle, and 120 disciples waited on the Lord to produce what he […]

Seven Brothers? A Remarkable World War II Story

Seven Brothers? A Remarkable World War II Story

May 24 15 • 0 comments

It’s quite a story of quite a family.

Family Graces: Joy in Parenting

Family Graces: Joy in Parenting

May 22 15 • 0 comments

Despite the message our culture sends, marriage and parenting aren’t the frightful things they’re often made out to be. The hardships that come in family life are outweighed by true and lasting joy, when we keep the proper perspective – perspective being the key word here. Parenting isn’t easy, but it makes us into the […]

Movie Review: <em>Far From the Madding Crowd</em>

Movie Review: Far From the Madding Crowd

Fans of “Pride and Prejudice” will love the new adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel, Far From the Madding Crowd. It’s a romance of class divisions as well as gender divisions (in the sense that a fiercely independent and independently wealthy female sees no “need” for a husband). Miss Bathsheba Everdene* (the astute and expressive […]

Orphan

Orphan

May 22 15 • 0 comments

Through the fence, carefully without touching it, she watched as so many friends, their bag in one hand their Certificate in the other, walked through the gate and boarded the bus. Not one of those open-windowed broken-down yellow oven-like hulks that had brought them to the “Happy Land” site, but new ones, cool with closed windows […]

The Future of Freedom Hinges on Faith

The Future of Freedom Hinges on Faith

May 22 15 • 5 comments

In a May 2014 article entitled, “Can Christianity in the West Endure?” I expressed concerns about the fate of the Christian faith under the stewardship of current and future generations of western believers. I concluded thusly: “But for Christians lucky enough to live in the free West, we have in large part become complacent and […]

A Child, a Song, and the Weight of Glory

A Child, a Song, and the Weight of Glory

May 22 15 • 1 comment

In 2012, twelve year old singer Jackie Evancho delivered an exquisite rendition of Nella Fantasia. It is the vocal version of Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe. Gabriel’s Oboe is from the soundtrack for the 1986 film The Mission: A favorite film, and composition, of mine. Sweet child, I believe that what you were singing about was […]

Twelve Other Forms of Marian Piety

Twelve Other Forms of Marian Piety

May 21 15 • 0 comments

In my last article, I looked to the rosary as the Marian devotion par excellence.  Some people may find the rosary difficult to pray, or they desire to honor Mary in another way or additional ways.  Below are twelve other ways in which a person can honor Mary beside the rosary.  By no means should this […]

Planned Parenthood and Tuskegee—No Difference

Planned Parenthood and Tuskegee—No Difference

May 21 15 • 2 comments

In 1932 an experiment was begun using taxpayer funding. It involved a group of 600 impoverished black men, most of whom had the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, all of whom became human guinea pigs used at taxpayer expense for reasons that are both atrocious and inhumane. To this day, these experiments remain a black mark […]

There Will Be Much Rejoicing

There Will Be Much Rejoicing

May 20 15 • 0 comments

There is so much suffering. Homeless men, women and even countless children on the sidewalks of our cities. … Refugees from war-torn Syria and numerous African countries. … Immigrants fleeing dangerous circumstances in Central America and risking everything to sneak into the United States. … People whose lives are turned upside-down by drug abuse – […]

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Protector of Life and Family

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Protector of Life and Family

Fr. Peter West also contributed to this article. The month of May is traditionally a time to honor Mary, the Mother of God. This is a fitting time to reflect on the essential role she plays in our salvation and in our missionary apostolate promoting life and family. During this month we should strive to […]

Poem: "Of Course the Rain- Psalm 29:9"

Poem: “Of Course the Rain- Psalm 29:9”

May 18 15 • 0 comments

Of Course the Rain- Psalm 29:9 Everything has its own voice, its own story, even this grey day long winter rain. For today, even at mid day the sky lay like a heavy regret, thick and leaden and unyielding with its threnody of thunder echoing in the heavens. Of course this rain has its own […]

Two Takes on Chastity

Two Takes on Chastity

Ave Maria Press recently published two books on chastity. While the books come to the same conclusions, the authors do so from very different viewpoints. The first, Chastity is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin, by Arleen Spenceley, is by a twenty-nine year old woman who is still looking for Mr. Right. She […]

'Canonizations give hope to Christians in the Holy Land'

‘Canonizations give hope to Christians in the Holy Land’

May 15 15 • 0 comments

By Oliver Maksan JERUSALEM—Pope Francis’ May 17, 2015 canonization of two Palestinians, Blessed Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Blessed Mariam Baouardi, “gives hope to Christians in the Holy Land,” said the bishop responsible for the Palestinian territories. In an interview with international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali said that […]

Light Your Lamps for Life in the Coming Darkness of Death

Light Your Lamps for Life in the Coming Darkness of Death

May 15 15 • 1 comment

There are dark days ahead for sick, disabled and depressed people in Canada. The Supreme Court recently struck down the nation’s laws against assisted suicide. The high court’s judges unanimously supported this terrible decision. What sort of society helps suicidal people kill themselves?! The high court defined the scope of assisted suicide to include an […]

U.S. House Passes 20-Week Abortion Ban

U.S. House Passes 20-Week Abortion Ban

May 14 15 • 0 comments

The United States House of Representatives has passed a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks’ gestation, ending four months of often vitriolic debate among Capitol Hill Republicans and pro-life activists about the contentious piece of legislation. The bill passed 242-184, largely along party lines, with one member voting present. Four Republicans broke ranks and voted […]

Getting to Yes: Courtship, Not Just Dating

Getting to Yes: Courtship, Not Just Dating

May 14 15 • 0 comments

When my family migrated from the Philippines to the United States in 1986, I didn’t want to go. I wanted to finish college at home and settle down with whomever God picked out for me to marry, after a courtship of at least five years. But God laughed at my plans. I met my future […]

The Power of the Spirit

The Power of the Spirit

May 13 15 • 0 comments

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” With those words to the apostle Thomas, Jesus bestowed a wonderful blessing upon all of those disciples who chose to follow him yet never actually heard him preach a sermon or saw him heal a leper. While walking the earth, our Lord had contemporaries whom […]

Poem: "Polka Dotted Women"

Poem: “Polka Dotted Women”

May 13 15 • 0 comments

Polka Dotted Women Polka Dotted Women. Patiently enduring. Polka dots pasted Over holes, Over dreams dissolved, Over a soul. Polka dots, pink, Distract me, you, Her. Pink polka dots Pinpoints of love Splashed across Her. From me, you, Him. Holes filled with memories: Love well lived. Well loved women. Love lives on through Polka dotted […]

Our Lady’s Three Rosaries

Our Lady’s Three Rosaries

May 13 15 • 1 comment

In her apparitions to the shepherd children at Fatima, Mary revealed herself as the Queen of the Holy Rosary and encouraged the daily recitation of the rosary. This devotion to the Mother of God has been recommended to the faithful for centuries. In fact, when one is attached to habitual sin, oftentimes in the confessional […]

Police Brutality Happens Every Day in China

Police Brutality Happens Every Day in China

May 13 15 • 0 comments

“Just a few days ago, I got a case involving a man who was disabled due to a severe beating by local government personnel just because his sister-in-law had had an additional baby without a permit.” — Chen Guangcheng On April 30th, Congressman Chris Smith chaired a hearing on population control in China in the U.S. […]

The Commitment Differences: 5 Reasons Faith-Filled Marriages Work

The Commitment Differences: 5 Reasons Faith-Filled Marriages Work

May 12 15 • 0 comments

Countless articles, memoirs and studies explore why so many marriages in our society deteriorate and ultimately fail. Just recently, a blog post at USA TODAY by Anthony D’Ambrosio gained attention for identifying the top five reasons that marriages don’t work: intimacy issues, financial strife, failure to truly connect, desire for attention, and an obsession with […]

The Fifth Gospel: Acts 10:25-48

The Fifth Gospel: Acts 10:25-48

As an avocational historian I spend a lot of time thinking about the past. The days gone by fascinate me and I often wonder what it was like for people who lived in earlier times. Saint Peter writes in his second epistle that, “There is no time with God: a single day: a thousand years: […]

Babies "Incompatible With Life"

Babies “Incompatible With Life”

May 12 15 • 0 comments

The Geneva Declaration on Perinatal Care recently came to my attention. It is very short, stating: As medical practitioners and researchers, we declare that the term “incompatible with life” is not a medical diagnosis and should not be used when describing unborn children who may have a life-limiting condition. We acknowledge that there exists no […]