Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning abortion advertising. Some members of the Duma (the Russian state assembly), are talking about going even further and banning the procedure itself. The Russian Orthodox Church, whose numbers are swelling with converts and “reverts,” is weighing in as well. One Orthodox prelate called abortion a […]
I once asked a priest what my life would have been like if I had not experienced suffering, if I had married a well-off dentist, had 1.25 kids and lived in an efficient, modern house. He put on a phony, pious face, put his hands together in prayer, and said in a high, mocking voice […]
Responding to an annual fundamentalist canard.
Christmas is about self-giving love. God becomes human to set humanity free from the oppression of sin and death. Accepting Christ, and celebrating Christmas, means welcoming that freedom, and striving that every human being may experience it. Hence we evangelize. And hence we work for justice. “Truly he taught us to love one another; His […]
With My Hand I Set This Pen With my hand I set this pen, With full knowledge of the Author, For great words flow only from the great, And the pen and the hand only follow. So it is with God and me— He speaks, I write, He wrenches me, I feel, He informs me, […]
To kick off my first “Book Whisperer” column, I thought I would share some wonderful adoption resources. If you have other recommendations, why not send me a note? My first favorite is Ten Days and Nine Nights by Yumi Heo (Random), for families with older children who are awaiting the adoption of a younger sibling (in this case, […]
Tradition teaches that Saint Francis of Assisi set up the first Nativity scene in order to inspire and encourage a greater appreciation of the wonders of the first Christmas. The year was 1223, and Francis created the scene in a cave outside Greccio, Italy featuring a wax figure of the infant Jesus and a man […]
One-year reading plans for Vatican II, New Testament, and Catechism.
There’s a reason why only 8 percent of New Year’s resolutions are kept: Too many of us make resolutions that lack resolve. “Resolve” is a powerful world. According to one dictionary, it means “to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with a disagreement.” Bill Gates elaborated on the concept in […]
Every year right after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. There is an important reason for this. It’s easy to think the “incarnation” means God took on a human body, that he appeared in human flesh. But there is much more to it than that. In Jesus, God unites himself to an […]
Pondering the Gospel narratives from the Annunciation to the Presentation, it is striking how all of the principals in the story were confused, troubled and even gripped by fear. All of them. And from Heaven came the constant, soothing admonishment: “Do not be afraid.” Beginning with the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to the priest, […]
The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus—the school of the Gospel (CCC No. 533). My parents married in 1969. The day before the wedding my father got cold feet. In the hotel bar he sat drinking beer with the lawyer Tom Wall who counseled my father […]
Feast of the Holy Family Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Sirach 3:2-6,12-14; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15,19-23) View NAB Reading at USCCB.org What it Means to “Put on Love” Put on then, as God’s chosen ones … love. (Colossians 3:12, 14) You are about to head out the door for a family […]
Until relatively recently, atheism just seemed to me like a phase for confused college students—usually nothing to be taken seriously, only something to be outgrown. However, atheism has become more pernicious in recent years. Aside from those who are going through a phase of “amateur atheism” occasioned by trendiness, myopic biology professors, or tough situations […]
The Christmas Presence He came to Exist in a world of cold; Bereft of a loving heed. Not once to bring a thing we want, But Instead everything we Need. This time of year when people hurry; A’herding here to there, A time of frantic maw and sup, A time beref’t real care. He was […]
At this time of year we frequently see a clash between the secular and the religious. We hear arguments that make many of us cringe while others rub their hands together with joy, pleased with the debate they have again provoked. For instance, we hear from those like Bill O’Reilly that Christmas was declared a […]
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours (Lk 2:14) Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the whole world, Greetings and Happy Christmas! I take up the song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. It is […]
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
What we can grasp is the innocence and gentleness of the baby Jesus.
I’m like a Christmas caterpillar. During the holidays, I put on a fuzzy sweater and eat my way through the season. By the Epiphany, the sweater is a little snug. But that’s ok. I think of it as just a phase in my evolving yuletide metamorphosis, as I pass through different stages of development on […]
With today’s writing I want to speak to an audience I don’t normally speak to. We “smart” Catholics like to look down on those who don’t do things the way we do. We look down on those who aren’t there with us every Sunday at Mass. This is the audience I’d like to speak to. […]
In the days of Caesar Augustus, an era of peace was established in the Mediterranean world after centuries of strife. But this peace was forged by the proud ambition of emperors and the edge of their armies’ swords. Upon this stage appears a baby acclaimed as king by eastern dignitaries. Neither Caesar nor Herod will […]
