It is a well-founded observation: More Catholics come to Church on Ash Wednesday (and Palm Sunday) than they do on Christmas and Easter. Reality, or ‘ecclesiastical legend’? Although I wish it were different, I see this as a hopeful sign. It tells me that, as Catholics we want the world to know that we are […]
A little cramped for time this Ash Wednesday? No problem. An Ohio Methodist minister, Rev. Patricia Anderson Cook, has found the solution for busy Christians on this holy day: Drive-thru ashes and reflection. From 5-6pm EST on Ash Wednesday, Rev. Cook, pastor of Mt. Healthy United Methodist Church, will be out in her church parking […]
The secular world today trembles and shudders at the sight of Rick Santorum speaking on good and evil at Ave Maria University in Florida in 2008. Santorum’s statement came 25 years after another much-maligned social conservative, Ronald Reagan, delivered a similarly fiery speech in Florida in 1983. In both cases, the secular left recoiled in […]
It’s Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Church’s 40 days of inventory, reflection, and commitment, to Christ’s passion and sacrifice; it’s the path to redemption, the humiliation of the human God, and the glorious climax of the Divine Man, which we call Lent. We can “put out into the deep” during this time and find […]
This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. (Mark 1:15) Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.” (Luke 10:9) […]
The poor remodeler, he was so uncomfortable that I thought he might break into a sweat. In fact, he might already have been sweating, but I dared not look too closely, lest my scrutiny escalate his discomfort. He’d come to bid on our kitchen reconstruction and walked into more than he’d bargained for. However, the […]
For some time now, I have been reading The Priest In Union With Christ written by the late Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., described by some as “probably the 20th century’s greatest theologian” and “one of the Church’s all-time greatest authorities on the spiritual life.” Given the on-going attack on the nature of the priesthood, our […]
Rich Donnelly has a baseball story that is out of this world. Donnelly’s daughter Amy had passed away four years before his trip to the World Series in 1997 with the Florida Marlins, but her presence was felt keenly at the end of the seventh game. The coach has recounted the story to thousands of […]
Why I do this? Last time I did, it took my husband two weeks to get me out of the laundry room corner. Why do I torture my fragile ego with magazine articles which ultimately make me feel domestically inadequate? The latest culprit? “Bedroom Design Don’ts: Ten typical mistakes people make when designing a bedroom”. […]
Tomorrow, the largest spring 40 Days for Life campaign in history kicks off in cities across America and around the world From Wednesday, February 22, through Sunday, April 1, 40-day campaigns of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil and community outreach will be held in 258 cities all across the United States (44 states and the […]
The beginning of Mark’s gospel contains a revealing and prophetic encounter between Jesus and a leper. We are told: “And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down said to Him: If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus having compassion on him, stretched forth His hand; and touching him, […]
If I had to name the most important topics in science during our time, they would probably be evolutionary biology, cosmology, particle physics, and psychology to understand the human person better. However, if I had to name the most important issue in science today, it would be something more over-arching. It would be the general issue of […]
Last summer my family began an unwanted journey: We learned that our son suffers from the disease of addiction. The realization shocked and panicked us, so we dove right into “fix-it” mode, quickly calling a couple of physicians and rehab facilities. We took him to the local hospital for a drug test, where doctors told […]
Resistance to the United States’ new foreign policy priority is emerging around the world for the same reasons it has been rejected within the U.S. Political leaders are holding the line against homosexual/transsexual demands when it comes to marriage and teaching children about homosexual/transsexual activity. Leaders from the United Nations, UK and European Union have […]
In His Place V Do I err to reminisce, That promise you once gave, While in distant times of joy and bliss, You declared to all with boastful pride Your intention to suffer by my side? O, Thomas, your pledge so brave, Uttered in hasty ignorance, Does me little while I approach my grave. And […]
It is not often that one sees Ernest Hemingway cited in an article on the federal budget and fiscal situation. But that is what GOP House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), ranking member of the Senate Committee, did in a recentWashington Post op-ed on President Obama’s last budget of his first term. […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25:4-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15) Lent, A Time to Experience Victory in our Battle Against Temptation and Sin It is … an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” (1 Peter 3:21) While St. Peter is describing the Sacrament of Baptism here, he […]
What are we doing? Obstetricians, whose job it is to help usher new life into the world, display birth control advertisements on their waiting room end-tables the way one’s Aunt Matilda might once have displayed dear family photos. The secular news media, whose job it is to objectively report information, only last year exalted 50 […]
A very conscientious Catholic, Harold Baumeister, saw this cartoon in his hometown paper and had the conviction and gumption to do something about it! He wrote to the editor (letter follows) to let him know that he was deeply offended by this crass cartoon and that the pope and all Catholics will fight to defend our freedoms. […]
Phrases scroll across my mind during these weeks following the peaceful but unexpected death of my 26 year old son Paul. “I want my baby back!” I cried to God the first week or two, although he was no baby. Another one that plays across my mind is: “Why did you […]
Need a little dose of humility? Try testifying before a legislative committee in Olympia, Washington chaired by condescending Senator, Karen Keiser. Want to be humbled? Get reprimanded by this same pro-abortion Senator calling herself a Lutheran Christian, who co-sponsored the redefinition of marriage bill, and who has been homesteading in the legislature for 16 […]
In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Nicholas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze, the man who once made a deal with the devil to save his father’s life, and became the devil’s bounty hunter. In the original Ghost Rider film, when he is in the presence of evil, Blaze turns into the Ghost Rider, a flaming […]
Today, New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan was elevated into the College of Cardinals in Rome. Here is full text of the address he gave to yesterday’s pre-Consistory gathering of the Pope and Cardinals. The Announcement of the GospelToday, Between missio ad gentes and the New Evangelization Holy Father, Cardinal Sodano, my brothers in Christ: Sia […]
Across Italy, up and down both coasts, one notices a very unusual sight. Driving down the Adriatic coast of Italy, along the eastern provinces known as Le Marche, all of the palm trees in sight are leafless. Along beautiful beachfront boulevards the trees still stand tall, and look strong, but with no tops. For the […]
