It was an astounding event. Truly remarkable, and clearly historical. Truth be told, I had never seen or experienced anything quite like it. It happened in one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in the United States. Indeed, in the world. The setting was most fitting. A magnificent cathedral with giant stained glass windows […]
A male reader of my post “This Modern Love” wrote an aside of how “man conquers woman” in the courtship process. He gave a personal example and said that though he did all the right things (e.g. gave her flowers, wrote her letters), he did not win her heart. He also wrote that, at one […]
To: Marybeth From: Preteen Parent How do I survive a moody 12-year-old daughter without damaging our relationship (or killing her)? I find it very hard to allow her the power to ruin a family event, even a meal, with her gloom. Some days she is a pure delight (engaged, happy, articulate, intelligent) and the next […]
Dr. Kermit Gosnell — a “barbaric” “monster” — is on trial in Philadelphia for murdering one woman and seven babies. The major TV networks and big-city newspapers want America to know nothing about it, so they are ignoring the story: a deliberate conspiracy of silence, demonstrating their intellectual and moral depravity. Kirsten Powers, a Democratic […]
In my last column, we began covering the sacrament of confession by stating that modern Catholicism suffers from a crisis of the confessional. Here on this site, on social media and in emails, readers have shared their thoughts with me on why this is so. According to the wisdom of the crowds, the biggest problem […]
“The Lord saves us by His love: not with a letter, nor with a decree, but with his love,” a love so great that it led him to send his Son, who, “became one of us, walked with us,” and this, he said, “saves us.” The Holy Father went on to explain that “salvation” means, […]
Catholics throughout the world might be familiar with Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC as a frequent conference speaker. In many of his talks he shares the story of his radical conversion to the Catholic faith, recounted in another book, No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy. Due to his frequent conference appearances he has developed a […]
Today I have been reflecting on life and death. This past Saturday my oldest daughter married her best friend in front of God surrounded by family and friends. There was a joyous celebration after the nuptial Mass. My mother was under the weather but attended that Mass and came to the reception for a short […]
I spent this morning at my OB/GYN’s office having that joyful annual experience — my gynecological exam. Oversharing? Perhaps. But I’m willing to risk personal embarrassment and immodesty if this post will help one of my fellow moms get off the dime and make the doctor’s appointment you’ve been procrastinating over for the past several months (or […]
In his seminal work, Nichomachean Ethics, the philosopher Aristotle begins his meditation on the subject of morality and the ultimate end of human life with an observation that certain first principles of ethics are self-evident to a person who has been raised up in a virtuous manner. A good man simply “knows” certain things to […]
The Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is pretty close to my home, so Witnesses regularly visit our neighborhood. Their timing is very strategic, often just before holidays (which they don’t celebrate). Last fall, they came on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving. I was putting something in my van, which was parked in the […]
Each of the sorrowful mysteries relates to what it is like to be in a relationship, what relationships call us to, and how to unite ourselves more deeply to Christ. For the purposes of this particular post “relationship” is limited to the context of dating and courting. Agony in the Garden My “agony in the […]
It’s a matter of perception. Is the glass half full or half empty? Sometimes, all that is needed is a paradigm shift (pronounced “pair-a-dime”, not “pair-a-digum, just to be clear). In order to see our lives clearly, we need a bird’s-eye-view, but we’re stuck below, looking at life from the perspective of the worm. I […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 5:27-32,40-41; Psalm 30:2,4-6,11-13; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19) Experiencing the Grace of Repentance and the Grace of the Holy Spirit We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29) Is this the same Peter who had denied that he even knew Jesus? Doesn’t it take years—if ever—for […]
I wish I could say that I said prayers with my children every morning, prayed the rosary with them every day, and remembered nightly prayers at bedtime. I know I should have this routine, but time passes and before I know it each day, breakfast is served and cleared (okay, well not always cleared) school […]
An English Peer and fertility expert has warned of the growing danger of eugenics in the flourishing artificial procreation industry. Lord Robert Winston, himself a pioneer in the use and “genetic screening” of embryos, has long been a voice of caution, warning successive governments that current legal restrictions are insufficient to regulate, or even keep […]
It’s the card that embarrassed believers play when they choose their will over God’s.
Margaret Thatcher is arguably the most complete British leader of the last 100 years.
A Damascus bomb blast which killed a deacon in training shows that a Christian district of the city is in acute danger, according to a leading Catholic bishop. Benjamin Camil, 35, was on his way home on Tuesday morning, March 26th, after distributing food to destitute people, when he was killed instantly by the explosive. […]
If you’ve followed 40 Days for Life, you probably know the story of Abby Johnson. She was the director of the abortion center in College Station, Texas where 40 Days for Life started. But after years of peaceful prayer vigils outside her office window, Abby quit her job … left Planned Parenthood and the abortion […]
It is difficult to imagine that any public official could possibly march to the left of Barack Obama or HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, but last week Federal District Court Judge Edward Korman did just that when he approved the sale of Plan B to children of any age. Previously, Sebelius ordered that based on the […]
The Church offers Gay people what she offers anyone else: the truth.
Many people carry the painful wound of a divorced heart. The pain can be hard to understand for those of us who have never been through a divorce. It is a wonder to me that you can pray for your future spouse, sacrifice for them and get counsel to help you discover if this person […]
