Archive for May, 2016

Fetal Tissue Research: What Really Works May Surprise You!
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Fetal Tissue Research: What Really Works May Surprise You!

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by on May 13, 2016 in Cloning, Embryo Research & Genetics, Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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Once again the practice of using aborted preborn babies for their body parts and tissues has made the news. This time the reporting is based on a sickening congressional letter addressed to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and signed by 98 members of Congress. The letter references recent hearings conducted by the House Energy […]

USS Cole, Towed October 29, 2000.
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The Betrayal of the USS Cole

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by on May 12, 2016 in Featured, Government & Politics, International Issues, Law & Justice
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Betrayed too many times to count.

Syria: 'Things Were Never So Bad in Aleppo Before'
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Syria: ‘Things Were Never So Bad in Aleppo Before’

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by on May 12, 2016 in Featured, Those in Need
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By Oliver Maksan NEW YORK—In an urgent appeal to the outside world, Franciscan Father Ibrahim Alsabagh is calling on Christians throughout the world to pray for the Syrian city of Aleppo, currently caught up in the midst of heavy fighting. “Never, since the beginning of this terrible war were things as bad as they are […]

Poem: "Heaven Glow"
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Poem: “Heaven Glow”

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by on May 11, 2016 in Poetry
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Heaven Glow Mr. Lee looked at the child moments old. “Sirius is his name,” said he. Mrs. Lee, cuddling the boy, truth be told, Said “Yes, Sirius Lee” he will be. But he wasn’t. Eyes twinkling stellar was he, Not dark, dismal or dull. Shimmering sparkling was he, Not Sirius Lee at all. Because he […]

Married Love is Total Self-Giving, Says Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia
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Married Love is Total Self-Giving, Says Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia

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by on May 11, 2016 in Featured, Marriage
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Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love) should be required reading in pre-Cana classes, say commentators, because the Pope explains Catholic teaching on marriage so wisely and elegantly to the current generation. Throughout the papal exhortation, you can find the themes of the four marks or “keys” of married love: faithfulness, freedom, fruitfulness, and a […]

Nigerian Bishops Ask Their President for Action on Christians' Rights
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Nigerian Bishops Ask Their President for Action on Christians’ Rights

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by on May 11, 2016 in Featured, International Issues, Those in Need
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Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have in no uncertain terms asked their new president to enact and enforce policies that—in accordance with the country’s constitution—would guarantee fair treatment of Christians in the north of the country where they are often relegated to second-class status. Meeting May 2, 2016 with President Muhammadu Buhari, the bishops’ demands—voiced in a […]

Obama’s Foreign Policy Legacy: Chaos and LGBT
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Obama’s Foreign Policy Legacy: Chaos and LGBT

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by on May 10, 2016 in Featured, Government & Politics
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As President Obama nears the end of his term his foreign policy remains indecipherable even to experts. His reticence in foreign affairs – even in cases of genocide – is legendary, except for one matter. A coordinated game plan on one key issue emerges through officials’ speeches, obscure overseas funding, even “buttonholing” diplomats in UN […]

God’s Definition of Tolerance: The Woman Caught in Adultery
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God’s Definition of Tolerance: The Woman Caught in Adultery

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by on May 10, 2016 in Catechesis, Featured, Live in Christ
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The Story and Its Reminders We have all heard the story of the woman caught in adultery who fell before Jesus at the point of being stoned under Mosaic law ( John 8:1-11). First, we know that those who brought this woman before Jesus were not really interested in the law, compassion, forgiveness or, for […]

Poem: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken"
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Poem: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken”

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by on May 07, 2016 in Poetry
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My God, my God, why have You forsaken Your life for mine? Why are You so far from helping Your own holiness by taking on my sins? You magnetized crowds with Your love and prayers and healing touch, only to draw sin from us – like a magnet cast in iron nails that tear away […]

Mary: Woman. Why not "Mom?"
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Mary: Woman. Why not “Mom?”

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by on May 06, 2016 in Evangelization, Featured
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Mama, Mammy, Mom, Mommy. Sweet, Beloved, Dear. Think of all the terms of endearment we use for our mothers. Think of all the terms of love and care our mothers use for us. Of all our titles and names for Mary – The Litany Of Loreto, also called the Litany Of The Blessed Virgin Mary, […]

The Momentum of Mercy
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The Momentum of Mercy

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by on May 06, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, Parenting, Women
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When I was child, I thought of mercy as something that was granted only to a person who really needed it, such as a big sinner, or when I did something really bad. I never thought about how mercy can be a part of everyday life. If we are open to the expansive nature of […]

New Civil Society Coalition Formed to Protect the Family
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New Civil Society Coalition Formed to Protect the Family

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by on May 05, 2016 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, The Homosexual Agenda
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A new coalition to confront the growing international threat against the family is launching a pro-family platform to unite organizations against overreach by international institutions. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and binding international instruments reserve singular protections for the family in recognition of the family’s irreplaceable role as the natural environment for the growth […]

On the Beautiful Prayer of Crying
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On the Beautiful Prayer of Crying

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by on May 04, 2016 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Evangelization, Featured, Men
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A boy falls and skins his knees. A boy wrestles in the living room and bonks his head on the coffee table. A boy tries to field a ground ball at shortstop, only to take a bad hop that bloodies his nose, or gets plowed by a much bigger boy on the football field. “Boys […]

Fruitful Love Symbolizes God's Inner Life, says Pope Francis' <em>Amoris Laetitia</em>
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Fruitful Love Symbolizes God’s Inner Life, says Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia

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by on May 04, 2016 in Featured, Marriage
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The night before Pope Francis officially released Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), I was chatting about it with Fr. Dave Dwyer on the Busted Halo radio show. Revealing that he had been able to get his hands on an advance copy, Fr. Dave told me, “You’re going to love it. He says a lot […]

<em>Talking to God: Prayers for Catholic Women</em>
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Talking to God: Prayers for Catholic Women

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by on May 04, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, On Books
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Sometimes it can be hard to find the words to pray, both in times of celebration and when we are hurting. Maybe we haven’t prayed in so long, we aren’t sure where to begin. As Grace Mazza Urbanski writes in the introduction to Talking to God: Prayers for Catholic Women (Franciscan Media, 2016), “We encounter […]

What Did Jesus Write?
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What Did Jesus Write?

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by on May 03, 2016 in Evangelization, Featured
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It’s a well-known story of forgiveness in John 8, but it remains mysterious. “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.” Upon hearing this, Jesus kneels and begins to write in the sand. What was Jesus writing? Scripture doesn’t tell us, but the reactions of those in the crowd give us […]

Always Choose Life!
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Always Choose Life!

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by on May 02, 2016 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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A number of years ago, my wife and I were contacted by the mother of a sixteen year old girl who had a positive pregnancy test. I will call the teenager Katie (not her real name) and her mother Joanne (not her real name). Katie was obviously in a crisis pregnancy:  It was a crisis […]

Poem: "The Sacrifice of the Sun"
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Poem: “The Sacrifice of the Sun”

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by on May 01, 2016 in Poetry
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(I was inspired to write this after reading an ancient legend about the sun dying every night so that the moon might draw breath. As it was Holy Week for Christians, this inspired me to try my hand on a comparative allusion about how Christ died so that humanity might draw new life) “The Sun […]