A number of months ago I accepted a request to speak at a Baptist church about an hour and a half drive from where I live. They asked me to speak about the rising acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada, and my Christian perspective about suffering. Unfortunately as the date drew nearer, this […]
When one studies the prayers and rubrics of the Mass (especially in the Extraordinary Form and ancient Eastern Rites), there is a striking aspect about all of them: just how Jewish they are. While Christianity developed in various cultures through thousands of years, the worship of God is still firmly rooted in Jewish customs and […]
The Friday Fax has learned that the Obama administration may try to circumvent the long-standing Helm’s Amendment and allow for taxpayer-funded abortions overseas. The change has not been made yet as the administration is trying to figure out how best to go about what could be a highly controversial change to the U.S. law which […]
I have a bone to pick with Jennifer Fulwiler: she kept me up late for about week reading her book, Something Other Than God. And we’ve got four kids aged five and under, so sleep is at a high premium around here. I wasn’t planning on reading Something Other Than God at all right now. […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 8:5-8,14-17; Psalm 66:1-7,16,20; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21) Being Filled with the Holy Spirit They received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:17) As soon as the apostles heard about God’s work in Samaria, they sent Peter and John to find out what was happening. When they arrived […]
The Holy Name of Jesus Oh, holy name, most sacred name So worthy of all praise, That heals the very saddest heart And Lights the darkest ways. Oh, precious word, sweet word of love Whatever could there be, That sings such music to the soul And means so much to me!! Kate Watkins Furman
By the time Cain and Abel show up in creation history, Satan had already inserted himself into human affairs and the fall of man. Adam and Eve were now living in a not so happy story of life without the garden, “toiling and suffering” in the outside world. The big lesson to be learned by […]
I am a former zygote. If you are not familiar with biology terminology, a zygote is the first cell that results when gametes (sperm and egg) fuse in sexual reproduction. I teach biology to homeschool students and we discover that many organisms begin as zygotes. Any organism that reproduces sexually starts as a zygote. Humans […]
It may seem as though Pope Francis’ trip to the Holy Land May 24-26 is something far away, both mentally and geographically. Trust me, it’s very close. Sure, he’ll be meeting with a number of dignitaries from positions and areas that don’t directly affect us. But, the main purpose for his trip is to meet […]
“But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God…” – John 8:40 I’ve always been fascinated by the two extreme reactions of people towards Jesus: adoration or desecration. Absolute wonder and awe that sought only to touch his hands or a blinding rage-filled […]
At some point in life each of us finds ourselves at a loss for what to say to God. It is usually at a time of intense trial. The pain of disease, agony of loss, or sting of betrayal leaves us overwhelmed. Our sadness and anger are so acute that we fell abandoned, as if […]
Even for many Catholics who attend Mass on a weekly basis, the Church’s teachings on birth control are often misunderstood — or completely unknown. It can be even more complicated for the faithful when high ranking clergy make confusing statements about these beautiful teachings. One of the tools Human Life International is using to set […]
“As long as you believe in God and try to be a good person, your religion doesn’t matter.” “There are different paths up the same mountain, but they all lead to the peak.” How many times have you heard people speak this way? This is the prevailing wisdom. It’s politically correct. Tolerant. Reasonable. But it’s […]
“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.” –GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy Continuing his Catechesis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis used this week’s lesson to discuss the gift of fortitude. When we consider the Gifts of the Spirit, […]
It is not unexpected, given news of a large recent overall decline in U.S. abortions and abortion rates, but it is encouraging nonetheless to see that the larger downward trend among all women is also being reflected in significantly lower abortion rates among teenagers. The report, “U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions, 2010: National and […]
The highest-ranking U.N. human rights official, Navi Pillay, looked down and fidgeted as Pope Francis delivered an unambiguous pro-life message to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and top U.N. officials. Unborn children are “our brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis told Pillay and her colleagues gathered in Rome for a coordination meeting. Pillay’s office facilitates the work of the […]
I have Found my Friend again, and I know all is Well It has been some time since we have talked, Longer than it should ever be, But You are the Master, and I am the slave, And that’s how it always must be. Is it Your will I am away so long? Is it […]
While writing my self-published manuscript, New Things and Old: Re-Implementing Vatican II, I came to the realization that Vatican II could only be understood in light of past magisterial teaching and the sources of the Tradition. Taken by themselves the documents could lead even orthodox Catholics to formulate or embrace conclusions that were erroneous and […]
Somewhere along the expanse of rails from New Haven to New York, as I daydreamed during the two-hour train ride to visit my dad in the hospital and take my mom back to the apartment, I realized the accuracy of the term “sandwich generation.” This was my second weekend trip to New York in so […]
It’s only a week now until Pope Francis sets out on his trip to the Middle East. Father Khalil Jaar is already excited. “I was asked whether I could organize two buses of refugees for a meeting with the Holy Father,” the priest of the Latin Patriarchate said proudly. “I didn’t have to think about it […]
Human cloning is here. After years of effort, scientists manufactured human life using the same process that created Dolly the sheep. There is no way around it: The age of human cloning is here—unless we act now to prevent it. Why outlaw human cloning? As the United Nations General Assembly decided in a nearly 3-1 […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12) Accepting Jesus’ Invitation To Come to Him Come to him … and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:4, 5) Beloved, come to me. I am the cornerstone, Jesus. My arms […]
Just in time for Mother’s Day comes a genuinely fun and funny film about the crazy adventure that is parenting, specifically motherhood (with a serving of fatherhood on the side). If you’ve seen the snappy trailer, the movie does deliver on its promise, and there’s lots more LOLs where that came from. But…. Dear Southern […]
Thousands of Catholics and non-Catholic supporters turned out for a prayer service Monday night, processing through the streets of Boston and singing hymns in response to a threat by a Harvard university secularist group to hold a Satanic “black Mass” on campus. Although a statement from the group, the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club, claimed […]
