Archive for May, 2014

June 1-2: Triumph with <em>Messenger of The Truth</em> on PBS
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June 1-2: Triumph with Messenger of The Truth on PBS

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This Sunday, June 1, and Monday, June 2, a miracle of sorts takes place on mainstream TV as PBS affiliates broadcast a documentary about a heroic Catholic priest. Messenger of The Truth is about Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko, chaplain to the Solidarity labor union that nonviolently took down the communist regime in Poland. Some efforts to […]

Poem: "The Ones Who Went Before"
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Poem: “The Ones Who Went Before”

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The Ones Who Went Before Past vales deep and mountains steep Where wild rivers run Where secrets keep and dragons sleep Hidden from the sun There tall stones stand upon the land Raised in days of yore A lasting brand and mark for man From the ones who went before The ones who made the […]

Why The Ascension Matters
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Why The Ascension Matters

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The celebration of the Ascension used to leave me a bit flat.  It was clear what Good Friday did for me.  And Easter Sunday’s benefits were indisputable.  But as for the Ascension, what’s in it for me? Christianity is about a kind of love we call agape or charity.  It is love that looks away […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Path to Unity

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“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:20-21) Pope Francis […]

Message to Governor Bobby Jindal: Women are Mothers Not Breeders
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Message to Governor Bobby Jindal: Women are Mothers Not Breeders

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On April 1 the Louisiana House passed H.B. 187, a gestational surrogacy bill that would provide a legal framework for women to enter into a contract in order to carry, deliver, and surrender a child at birth to an infertile couple. The bill has now passed the Senate and is headed to Governor Bobby Jindal’s […]

Book Review: <em>The Heart of Catholicism</em>
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Book Review: The Heart of Catholicism

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Dr. Bert Ghezzi, well-known Catholic author of several books on the saints and the sacraments, has now written a book about how Catholics live. The Heart of Catholicism: Practicing the Everyday Habits that Shape Us (Ave Maria Press, 2014) “is a book about what Catholics do and why they do it. It describes the practices […]

Five Things Pope Francis Wouldn’t Do Online
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Five Things Pope Francis Wouldn’t Do Online

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We all probably wish we could take back some things we have said and done online, not only for our own sake but for the sake of other people we were called to bring closer to God and instead pushed further away. I often read some of the comments on Catholic blogs, (and sometimes the […]

If You Can't Make Daily Mass
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If You Can’t Make Daily Mass

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Our spiritual lives are centered upon Jesus’ sacrifice, made present in the Eucharist. Probably the majority of us however, have schedules that keep us from attending Mass on a daily basis. It may come as a surprise to learn that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – and the majority of Jews at the time – found […]

Children Not Owned by the State, Says Vatican Rep to UN
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Children Not Owned by the State, Says Vatican Rep to UN

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The Vatican Ambassador to the UN told UN leaders last week that “children do not belong to the state.” Archbishop Francis Chullikatt told a gathering of UN delegates and NGO representatives celebrating the International Day of Families that children also do not belong “to any special interest group whose agendas are actually inimical to the […]

Mary Helps Me Mother
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Mary Helps Me Mother

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It’s Mary’s month of May! She helps me be a better mother by her example and prayers. In the beginning, I had a hard time connecting with Mary. I simply believed Church teaching regarding her; that was it. Over the years, however, as I read and noticed and prayed, I’ve grown to see her as […]

 The UNFPA Exaggerates the Demand for its Products
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The UNFPA Exaggerates the Demand for its Products

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How many children do the urban poor women in the West African country of Burkina Faso really want? A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America addressed the fertility preferences of poor women living in the city of Ouagadougou. It found that they wanted large families, but that they […]

Reflections for Sunday, June 1, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, June 1, 2014

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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3,6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20) The Faithfulness of Jesus in Leading Us and Guiding Us  I am with you always, until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)  This is a bittersweet day. On the one hand, we celebrate Jesus, the Son of God, […]

Dear Engaged Couples
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Dear Engaged Couples

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One of the things I hear the most from engaged couples is that they do not pray together. This is crucial for a successful marriage. Remember that marriage is a covenant relationship. It takes three- bride, groom and God. No more than we can imagine a day going by without speaking to one another, just […]

Closing the Cafeteria: The Importance of Orthodoxy in Lay Life
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Closing the Cafeteria: The Importance of Orthodoxy in Lay Life

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One of my fondest memories at Baylor was when I first walked downstairs and into the wonder that was my dorm’s cafeteria. Far away from home, I reveled in the sheer number of choices before me with no one to tell me which foods were appropriate to eat or laugh at odd combos. From breakfast […]

Maternal Mortality and Abortion Advocacy
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Maternal Mortality and Abortion Advocacy

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Ever since reducing maternal mortality was established as one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), abortion advocacy groups have been working hard to affix their own goals inextricably to the global effort to reduce the incidence of death of mothers in childbirth. As the MDGs near their expiration, some the most outspoken activists in […]

How I Accepted the Challenge of Christian Fatherhood
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How I Accepted the Challenge of Christian Fatherhood

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Emily and I drove home from the hospital in complete silence. The gravity of the moment eleven years ago hit me: we were responsible for someone else’s life. Gulp. At this time, I had been a Catholic for only three years. Through conversion, I fell in love with the theology and the sacraments. Yet, I […]

Stubborn Donna
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Stubborn Donna

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Donna Russell just sat there on the bench being what she was: a twelve-year-old child and as stubborn as a mule. Helen, her sister, sat beside her. They both refused to look at me. I was furious. It was late in the game and we were down ten points. This was my first year coaching […]

Remember
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Remember

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One of the challenges we face in modern society is preserving the meaning of holidays for our children. This is true of Christmas and Easter, but even the National Holidays like President’s Day, Labor Day, and Memorial Day have lost their soul for many Americans. These have become bonus vacation days, rather than a day […]

The Paraclete
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The Paraclete

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He wore steel rimmed glasses and had hair to the middle of his back.  The fringe on his buck-skinned jacket bounced as he walked. At least that was the way I was accustomed to seeing Mike as he bopped around town.  It was just a few years after Woodstock, and we were all taken with […]

CL3 - hbratton notxt
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Sts. Donatian and Rogatian, Martyrs

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THERE lived at Nantes an illustrious young nobleman named Donatian, who, having received the holy Sacrament of Regeneration, led a most edifying life, and strove with much zeal to convert others to faith in Christ. His elder brother, Rogatian, was not able to resist the moving example of his piety and the force of his […]

silent no more awareness campaign
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Abortion Stories: Déjà Vu… Sans the Truth

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The Silent No More Awareness Campaign started in 2002 to make the public aware of the devastation abortion brings women and help them to find healing. I have been a member of Silent No More since 2008. Recently, the Pro-Abortion movement came up with the original idea of sharing abortion stories to “break the silence” […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Gift of Knowledge

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In the May 21, 2014, Wednesday Audience on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, (this week focusing on The Gift of Knowledge), Pope Francis spoke several times about various gifts God offers us. First, let us examine the idea of gift.  Each of us has experienced physically receiving a gift especially on a special occasion […]

<em>The Porn Pandemic</em> Shows Pornography's ‘Devastating Effects'
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The Porn Pandemic Shows Pornography’s ‘Devastating Effects’

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What do half-a-dozen major sex crimes in America have in common? According to a new documentary by Family Watch International (FWI), they often start with pornography. Launched at the first End Exploitation summit last week, which was primarily organized by Morality in Media, “The Porn Pandemic: The Devastating Effects on Children, Family and Society” features […]

Holy Land - Preparing for Pope Francis
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Holy Land – Preparing for Pope Francis

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When Pope Paul VI visited the Holy Land, Auxiliary Bishop Marcuzzo was still only a seminarian, but to this day he remains impressed by the visit. Now, 50 years later, other seminarians are preparing for the visit of a new Pope. Returning to the sources: this was the goal Pope Paul VI had set himself […]