Category: Featured

Eurocracy Run Amuck
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Eurocracy Run Amuck

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“We must re-establish the primacy of politics over the market.” That sentence, spoken a little while ago by Germany’s Angela Merkel, sums up the startlingly unoriginal character of the approach adopted by most EU politicians as they seek to save the common currency from what even Paul Krugman seems to concede is its current trajectory […]

Phoenix Hospital Says Nun Who Approved Abortion No Longer Excommunicated
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Phoenix Hospital Says Nun Who Approved Abortion No Longer Excommunicated

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An Arizona hospital that lost its Catholic affiliation by procuring a direct abortion two years ago says that the nun responsible for the decision to do the abortion has regained good standing with the Catholic Church. The local diocese did not confirm the statement, calling the issue a personal one. Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix […]

In the Dark, Remember, Grace Will Come!
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In the Dark, Remember, Grace Will Come!

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Charles de Foucauld was a dandy, a fop, or perhaps an epicure. Having lost his faith as a young teen, he learned to enjoy the good things in life and did all he could to continue to enjoy them.    Even amidst a military career, in which he performed quite daring exploits, he still loved to […]

The Perfect Family's Christmas Letter 2011, Part 1
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The Perfect Family’s Christmas Letter 2011, Part 1

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You know the one.  It arrives the day after Thanksgiving.  The envelope is double foil lined, the picture of the kids resembles a Gap ad, and the Holiday Letter comes with a warning: Caution!  May cause blurred vision, severe feelings of gross inadequacies and nausea.  Do not drive motor vehicle or operate heavy machinery while […]

Obama Administration Bans Knowledge of Islam
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Obama Administration Bans Knowledge of Islam

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The Obama administration’s censoring of photographs of the late Osama bin Laden, lest they offend Muslims, is one thing; but what about censoring words, especially those pivotal to U.S. security? The Daily Caller reveals that “the Obama administration has been pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in […]

Advent: A Time to Fix Our Eyes on Jesus
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Advent: A Time to Fix Our Eyes on Jesus

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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that […]

Movie Review: <em>Hugo</em>
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Movie Review: Hugo

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Hugo is Martin Scorsese’s engaging adaptation of the children’s book by the same name. What’s it about? It’s an elaborate introduction to a slice of film history. The all-British cast plays out the story set in a 1930’s train station in Paris. At first, the story seems to be a tale of a misfortunate orphan-urchin […]

Genetic Warrior: Leticia Velasquez and the New Diversity
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Genetic Warrior: Leticia Velasquez and the New Diversity

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If any one type is removed from the system, the cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species. (Dr. Richard Lankau, “Loss of Genetic Diversity Threatens Species Diversity”) Leticia, I’d like to discuss your recent re-coining of the term “Genetic Diversity,” which I think is an important step toward reclaiming […]

<em>Fatherless, Motherless, Childless</em>: Great Pro-Life, Catholic Fiction
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Fatherless, Motherless, Childless: Great Pro-Life, Catholic Fiction

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Fiction is as instructive as non-fiction, maybe even more so.  The best fiction catches us up in a world outside our own all the while teaching us truths about ourselves and humanity.  The pleasure of reading a great story cements those truths into the deepest corners of our mind.  Dean Koontz has been quietly reeducating […]

Reflections for Sunday, December 18, 2011
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Reflections for Sunday, December 18, 2011

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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12,14,16; Psalm 89:2-5,27,29; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38) Advent: A Time to Say Yes to God as Mary Did “Hail, favored one!” (Luke 1:28) Face-to-face with the mighty angel Gabriel, Mary was “greatly troubled” (Luke 1:29). Gabriel announced God’s plan for her to conceive through […]

A Predictable Fiasco
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A Predictable Fiasco

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The Egyptian elections have resulted in a rout for the throngs whose springtime hopes for freedom are now facing the prospect of a nuclear winter at the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood and its fellow Salafists.  These Islamists appear to have garnered 60% of the seats in the next parliament and the opportunity to shape […]

The Story of Guadalupe: Hope for Our Violent World
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The Story of Guadalupe: Hope for Our Violent World

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On December 8, 2006 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), Mel Gibson released his epic movie, Apocalypto . Hopefully many eyes were opened by this movie’s portrayal of the evil of human sacrifices practiced by the Aztecs and other Indian cultures in what would become Mexico. The movie provides the historical backdrop of today’s Marian celebration: the Memorial […]

Is It Time for an Urban Version of the Homestead Act? Part 2
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Is It Time for an Urban Version of the Homestead Act? Part 2

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Many, many books, articles, and experiences have inspired and influenced this Urban Homesteading idea (see Part 1). I cannot possibly include them all here – but I have tried to include a few items that capture the major themes that have inspired me. This first article deals with urban agriculture and its economic impact. It […]

Male Nurse Claims He Was Fired for Treating Muslim Women
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Male Nurse Claims He Was Fired for Treating Muslim Women

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In one of the more intriguing cases to emerge recently, male nurse John Benitez Jr. filed suit against the city of Dearborn, Michigan, for sex discrimination last [month], charging that he had been terminated for tending to Muslim women at a government-run medical facility after receiving contradictory instructions about the need to adhere to gender […]

What Is Truth: Revelation versus Man's Vain Imagination
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What Is Truth: Revelation versus Man’s Vain Imagination

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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31). As I slowly reread The Confessions, savoring every jot and tittle, I am struck by the intensity of Saint Augustine’s search for truth—rather, for the Truth. Aurelius Augustine embraced many falsehoods during his life, but every successive identity he assumed […]

<em>Who’s Got You?</em> Observations of a Catholic Homeschooling Father
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Who’s Got You? Observations of a Catholic Homeschooling Father

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If you do an Internet search for “Catholic Fatherhood” how much data would you find in comparison to Panda Bears, Applied Linear Algebra, and Welding Theory?  According to John Clark, author of  Who’s Got You, Catholic Fatherhood comes in last.  The results respectively were 1,914, 1,706, and 284. Catholic Fatherhood netted 270 results.  Clark surmised […]

Nigerians Fight to Uphold Marriage Under Obama’s Pressure
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Nigerians Fight to Uphold Marriage Under Obama’s Pressure

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The Catholic Medical Association of Nigeria (CMAN) congratulated that country’s Senate for defending marriage in law, but it condemned what it called the “coordinated ferocity” of foreign governments, NGOs, and international organizations which pressured the Senate not to pass the bill. CMAN called this interference “forces of neo-colonialism, imperialism, and secular humanism.” The bill, which […]

Hope After Poor Prenatal Diagnosis
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Hope After Poor Prenatal Diagnosis

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Parents who receive news that their unborn child has a serious birth defect, genetic syndrome, or other ­medical complication are often left to sort out their responses on their own. As co-founders of the network Be Not Afraid, for almost ten years, we have had the privilege of ­supporting parents who carry their babies to […]

Randians Left and Right are Wrong
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Randians Left and Right are Wrong

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There was a piece on National Public Radio (NPR) a week or so ago charting the influence of novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand in today’s politics, specifically in economic policy touted by certain Republicans in Congress.  Ayn Rand was a proponent of “objectivism,” that is quoting from the NPR piece: It is, she says, a system of […]

Gaudete Sunday and the Letter of Joy
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Gaudete Sunday and the Letter of Joy

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Eleven-year-old Ralphie Parker knows what he wants for Christmas.  He begs his parents to buy it for him but when they say they won’t he takes his plea straight to the top: Santa Claus.   “What do you want?” Santa asks.    Ralphie confidently answers: “I want an official Red Ryder carbine-action two-hundred shot range […]

John the Baptist and the Path to Joy
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John the Baptist and the Path to Joy

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On the third Sunday of Advent, penitential purple gives way to pink and we celebrate “Gaudete” or “Rejoice!” Sunday.  “Rejoice heartily in the Lord, says Isaiah” (61:10).  “My Spirit finds joy in God my Savior,” says the Virgin Mary (Luke 1: 47). “ Rejoice in the Lord always,” says St. Paul (I Thes 5:16).  “Make […]

How 4-H Helps With College & Scholarship Applications
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How 4-H Helps With College & Scholarship Applications

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“My 4-H achievement record is a waste of time that no one will ever look at,” a teen grumbled at me this summer. I disagreed. Now that I’m the mother of a daughter on the quest for college acceptance letters and scholarship offers, I can back up my disagreement. Each college has its own questions […]

Former Employees Offer to Testify Against Planned Parenthood in Congressional Probe
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Former Employees Offer to Testify Against Planned Parenthood in Congressional Probe

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Seven former Planned Parenthood employees have expressed their support for Congress’ current investigation of the abortion giant, and offered to testify against the organization, in a letter released this week. News broke in September that the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce had launched an investigation into Planned Parenthood to determine whether the group mishandles criminal […]

<em>The Greatest Miracle</em>:  Wonderful Idea; Flawed Execution
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The Greatest Miracle: Wonderful Idea; Flawed Execution

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The Greatest Miracle, an animated look at the source and summit of our faith, Holy Mass, opens today in 63 cities.  It is a film that has me feeling quite conflicted. On the one hand, the concept of using film to explore what is going on spiritually in Mass is a wonderful idea. There are […]