I gave them your word and the world hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world (John 17:14). Today we observe World Communications Day, because communication is important to the life of the Church. In fact, we ARE in the business of communications: evangelization is the […]
There is a dichotomy in this question or quest, if you will. “Fitting in” calls for a person to make a choice of accepting a set of ideals that belong to a certain group of people in the community. These set of ideals should match those of oneself to truly fit in. These ideals should […]
The Vatican called it a reform but it’s actually a “war against nuns,” an unprovoked “crackdown” on the dwindling ranks of America’s 55,000-plus religious sisters by a power-hungry pope and his ungrateful bishops. Rather than thanking the aging sisters for their years of service to the oppressed, the patriarchal Catholic power structure is punishing them […]
For as well as I know my only son, I never really understood him until I read John L. Parker Jr.’s Once a Runner. Often called the “definitive running story,” Once a Runner, published in 1978, remains a cult classic for those whose identities are defined by the sport of running. Through the tale of […]
Have you seen the U.S. Department of State’s definition and legislation for legal adulthood? The DOS website states: “When a child reaches the age of 18, they [sic] become a full legal adult in most U.S. localities. That may not be the case in overseas environments, where the age for acquiring adult status under another […]
Style, Sex, & Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter, edited buy Hallie Lord, is full of spiritual truths and spunk! The ten women who each tackle a different current issue seem to hit most of the hot topics usually found splashed across the covers of women’s tabloids, but from a Catholic […]
In the novel Love Story, Oliver and Jenny want to marry. But their families don’t want them to marry. They are from “opposite sides of the tracks.” Oliver is rich. Jenny is poor. Both are well educated (he from Harvard; she from Radcliff) but aren’t interested in social status. They only want to start a […]
Last week, in an advertorial slideshow on ObamaForAmerica.com, the president’s re-election campaign introduced “The Life of Julia” about a fictional “everywoman” whose government-subsidized existence is intended to reassure women voters about President Obama’s ability to provide for them in an uncertain future. This “composite” female — not to be confused with the one who portrayed […]
Popular Christian author Janette Oke’s first book was Love Comes Softly. Janette was born during the depression years on a Canadian prairie farm and she remembers her childhood as full of love, laughter, family life and faith. Janette drew upon these themes for her debut novel and her many other popular books that followed. I […]
I was nearing the close of Pat Buchanan’s new book Suicide of a Superpower (St. Martin’s Press) when I read that MSNBC had fired him as a political commentator for expressing views offensive to political correctness as practiced at that left-leaning network. (“Left-leaning” as applied to MSNBC comes from the Los Angeles Times, which is […]
I’m doing something I’ve never done before. I’ve never written a movie review for a movie I have not yet seen or a book review for book I have not yet read. But I am so excited by the “buzz” about an upcoming movie that I thought I’d let you in on some of it. […]
There are now nine lawsuits, including one brought by Priests for Life, that have been filed in federal district courts around the country challenging the Obama administration’s HHS mandate that requires employers to provide coverage for activities that many of them believe people should not do. There is value to having multiple lawsuits because, having […]
It’s not politically incorrect to believe in God. Just so long as you acknowledge that all are God’s children, and that there are many, equally honorable paths to the Most High. After all, that’s only fair. How conceited it would be to claim that your way is the only way. There is nothing really new […]
When Charles W. “Chuck” Colson died last week, the headlines screamed about the death of President Richard Nixon’s “hatchet man,” who tumbled from his perch as White House chief counsel after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in 1974. Some squeezed in fleeting references to the way Colson spent the second half of his life, […]
It’s official. Brad and Angelina are engaged, succumbing to pressure from family members to finally tie the knot. Back in the day, that pressure would have come from a worried mother, or more likely, a protective father and the business end of shotgun. But this is 2012. The family pressure to marry comes, in this […]
Nearing his 85th birthday on April 16 and, three days later, the seventh anniversary of his election to the throne of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI—even after so many years—apparently remained something of an enigma for many people. A small but telling incident before Easter may hold a key to understanding this unusual man. In case […]
Something wonderful unfolded in American politics the last few days. Almost immediately after Rick Santorum dropped out of the Republican presidential hunt, David Axelrod and the Obama reelection team unleashed the class-warfare cannons. They expected to enjoy the first salvo of the season, fired by Democratic lobbyist Hilary Rosen. In a CNN interview, Rosen claimed […]
When Astrid Bennett Gutierrez, Janet Morana and Teresa Tomeo get together, something fantastic happens — it’s called The Catholic View for Women. It’s a new EWTN talk show. Several pilot shows ran on the network last year, garnering reviews so favorable that EWTN not only contracted for a full series, 13 episodes of which will […]
The smell of pot roast escapes from the lid of the slow cooker and wafts down the hallway to my home office. My washer and dryer hum harmoniously in the distance while generating hours’ worth of laundry for me to fold tonight after dinner. Already today, I’ve paid some bills and balanced the checkbook, determined […]
The late medical essayist Lewis Thomas once described Alzheimer’s as “the worst of all diseases, not just for what it does to the patient, but for its devastating effects on family and friends.” For anyone who has witnessed the ravages of Alzheimer’s firsthand, as I did during the dozen-plus years that my father battled it, […]
The poor remodeler, he was so uncomfortable that I thought he might break into a sweat. In fact, he might already have been sweating, but I dared not look too closely, lest my scrutiny escalate his discomfort. He’d come to bid on our kitchen reconstruction and walked into more than he’d bargained for. However, the […]
In 1968, cigarette maker Philip Morris launched a brand of smokes just for women. Marketed with the provocative slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby,” Virginia Slims offered an elegant profile and an image that suggested freedom, empowerment and equality. Unfortunately for women, “Skinny Ginnys” were not a cultural or political statement, they were just […]
The movie version of The Hunger Games debuted on March 23, and it is breaking all records. What follows is a review of The Hunger Games Trilogy by author, Suzanne Collins. **Spoiler Alert—The plot is discussed here in detail for parental benefit. The level of detail is to help facilitate a discussion with your child […]
Baby seals, puppies and horses all seem to have a universal ability to tug at people’s heartstrings. It’s just something about how we’re made, and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse doesn’t disappoint in that department. This film takes you on an emotional ride from the opening scene, the birth of a horse in rural England, right […]
