Archive for November, 2015

The Meaning of Human Sexuality
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The Meaning of Human Sexuality

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by on Nov 06, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Evangelization, Featured, Marriage, Men, Women
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As the concept of gender grows ever more fluid (you can pick any one of 58 gender options on Facebook), it’s worth asking why God created humans as male and female. Bacteria have no gender and reproduce mostly by dividing their cells. Some species of fish are sequentially hermaphroditic, changing genders throughout their lifetime. Angels, […]

African Women’s Solutions to War Clash with Feminists’ Agenda
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African Women’s Solutions to War Clash with Feminists’ Agenda

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by on Nov 06, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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When the UN Security Council adopted its latest resolution on the role of women in international peacebuilding and security last month, a familiar clash of opinions surfaced—among women. In particular, feminists driving the international policies are on opposite sides of women living in the realities of war-challenged areas. At a panel hosted by Liechtenstein, a […]

dating, marriage, love
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Let Your Spousal Love Grow

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by on Nov 06, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Marriage, Parenting
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This past summer, after nearly 16 years of marriage, my husband and I took our first bona-fide, airline-ticket “weekend away.” As you might imagine, it was quite a logistical undertaking for a family with four children. More than once I questioned whether we were being selfish for doing it at all. But something happened that […]

St. Leonard
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St. Leonard

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by on Nov 06, 2015 in Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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LEONARD, one of the chief personages of the court of Clovis, and for whom this monarch had stood as sponsor in baptism, was so moved by the discourse and example of St. Remigius that he relinquished the world in order to lead a more perfect life. The Bishop of Rheims having trained Leonard to virtue, […]

Reflections for Sunday, November 7, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, November 7, 2015

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by on Nov 05, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading 1 Kings 17:10-16 2nd Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28 Responsorial: Psalm 146:7-10 Gospel: Mark 12:38-44 Eagerly Awaiting the Second Coming of Christ Christ … will appear a second time … to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. (Hebrews 9:28) November marks the final […]

How Modern Eugenics Discounts Human Dignity
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How Modern Eugenics Discounts Human Dignity

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by on Nov 05, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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In this modern age, many people are no longer afraid of eugenics. It is not that they are ignorant of the past. They know all about the movement of the early 20th century that tried to create a better human race by preventing the birth of those deemed “unfit.” Eugenics literally means “good birth,” and […]

The Only Good Catholic
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The Only Good Catholic

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by on Nov 05, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Those in Need
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Driving my kids home from school on one of our faster moving country roads, I was stopped short by a dog wandering stupidly around the yellow lines.  I couldn’t get out of the car to help because my son has a life-threatening allergy, so my frustration mounted as I realized that, until someone else came […]

What the Legacy of China's One Child Policy Can Teach America
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What the Legacy of China’s One Child Policy Can Teach America

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by on Nov 05, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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News broke last week that China has reversed its infamous one child policy after 35 years, increasing the permitted number of children per family to two. The Washington Post ran a story reviewing the history of the policy, a brutal and heartbreaking legacy of forced abortion, corruption, and despair. China’s one-child policy is a prime […]

Poem: "Gifts"
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Poem: “Gifts”

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by on Nov 05, 2015 in Poetry
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Gifts The gifts He gave me, I thought were me. I was them, they were mine. I used them, enjoyed them, Ignored, and wasted them. Some I squandered. A gift that blossomed, It was my planting! A gift that bore fruit, It was my growing! No thought of giving them. No thought of sharing them […]

St. Martin of Porres
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St. Martin of Porres

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by on Nov 05, 2015 in Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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That the truth is stranger than fiction is verified in the life of this holy man who was born on December 9, 1579, and died on November 3, 1639.  He was the son of Don Juan de Porres, a Spanish adventurer and nobleman, and Ana Velasquez, a freed Negro woman of Panama. Martin’s father arranged […]

God’s Gift to Man: The Transforming Power of Music
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God’s Gift to Man: The Transforming Power of Music

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by on Nov 04, 2015 in Featured, Music
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This article is a reflection on how music has shaped my devotion to the Church. There will be links to my favorite music: liturgical, hymns and other. I’d be grateful if readers would note in comments their favorite music. I won’t say much about the psychology of music or how music affects the brain. A […]

The Light of Christ Can Stop the Brutal Darkness of Abortion
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The Light of Christ Can Stop the Brutal Darkness of Abortion

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by on Nov 04, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Those in Need
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The October 26th 2015 edition of LifeNews.com carried an article entitled “Abortionist Caught Saying It Would be a “Great Idea” to Burn Aborted Babies for Energy.”[1] The article attributed the quote to Michigan abortion mill owner, Renee Chelian, at a 2014 conference in San Francisco for the National Abortion Federation (NAF). Chelian owns the Northland Family […]

St. Charles Borromeo
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St. Charles Borromeo

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by on Nov 04, 2015 in Saint of the Day, Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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ABOUT fifty years after the Protestant Reformation had broken out, Our Lord raised up a mere youth to renew the face of His Church. In 1560 Charles Borromeo, then twenty-two years of age, was created cardinal, and by the side of his uncle, Pius IV, administered the affairs of the Holy See. His first care […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Jewish Roots of Christianity

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by on Nov 03, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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Reflecting on the 50 anniversary of the historic Vatican II declaration Nostra Aetate, Pope Francis lauded the document for proposing to every Christian “the rediscovery of the Jewish roots of Christianity.” Speaking in cinematic terms to give ourselves a frame of reference, is Christianity a remake (or re-boot), a sequel, or a spin-off of Judaism?  […]

Movie Review: <em>Jem and the Holograms</em>
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Movie Review: Jem and the Holograms

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by on Nov 03, 2015 in Featured, On TV and Movies
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Jem and the Holograms is a live-action tween movie based on the animated TV series of the same name that aired from 1985-1988. Although I have been informed by some fans of the TV series that the film is not cleaving exactly to the TV version, it is nonetheless a delightful, “family-oriented” film that is […]

FDA Blasts, WHO Downplays, Risks of Depo-Provera Contraceptive
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FDA Blasts, WHO Downplays, Risks of Depo-Provera Contraceptive

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by on Nov 03, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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A week before a huge global family planning conference in Indonesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a short statement reiterating its position that injectable contraceptives are safe – for any duration – even for adolescents despite being linked to progressive bone density loss and other harmful side effects. It came shortly after the U.S. […]

St. Hubert
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St. Hubert

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by on Nov 03, 2015 in Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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ST. HUBERT’S early life is so obscured by popular traditions that we have no authentic account of his actions. He is said to have been passionately addicted to hunting, and was entirely taken up in worldly pursuits. One thing is certain: that he is the patron saint of hunters. Moved by divine grace, he resolved […]

Feathers in the Wind: Scandal and Sharing Online
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Feathers in the Wind: Scandal and Sharing Online

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by on Nov 02, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ, Marriage
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St. Philip Neri once told a woman that as penance for her gossiping, she should scatter a pillowful of feathers into the wind and then walk about the town collecting every feather. The task was impossible, of course, and it emphasized that we can’t take back our words once they’ve been uttered. That’s especially true […]

Poem: "With You in Mind"
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Poem: “With You in Mind”

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by on Nov 01, 2015 in Poetry
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With You in Mind Still unfolding in Time, God built the Universe With you in mind. Matter abounds in precise measure, Yet only mind cares To count the treasure. The Nature of Reality Weighs only upon Man. Mind, immaterial, Counts on Science to understand. But mensuration once obtained Must be thought to think things through, […]

<em>THE 33</em> Spotlights Faith, Hope of Trapped Chilean Miners
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THE 33 Spotlights Faith, Hope of Trapped Chilean Miners

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by on Nov 01, 2015 in Featured, On TV and Movies
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From Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. comes this exciting and moving film based on the real-life event when a gold and copper mine collapses, trapping 33 miners underground for 69 days. Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Phillips star. In theaters Nov. 13.

All Saints Day
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All Saints Day

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by on Nov 01, 2015 in Saint of the Day, Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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The Church pays, day by day, a special veneration to some one of the holy men and women who have helped to establish it by their blood, develop it by their labors, or edify it by their virtues. But, in addition to those whom the Church honors by special designation, or has inscribed in her […]