A new film aptly entitled Denial — about a famous Holocaust-denial court case–is a jewel. I hope it will be used in classrooms. I will be doing some SPOILERS in this review in order to pick apart the storyline, as well as the reality of dealing with Holocaust deniers. Rachel Weisz plays professor, historian and […]
Much has been said of the Anthropic Coincidences, the special values of physical constants and force laws that enable a universe to support carbon-based life. Even more remarkable, I believe, are the wonderful physical-chemical processes that sustain the life of living things, from the simplest one-celled organisms to us, all of which are made possible by […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Responsorial: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9 Gospel: Luke 17:5-10 Living as “Unprofitable Servants” of the Lord We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do. (Luke 17:10) Didn’t Jesus call us his […]
Mother Teresa’s canonization in Rome reverberated at an event in UN headquarters where top diplomats praised the saint as the very essence of the UN’s mission even if they had opposed her message on life and family issues in the past. “Mother Teresa is the United Nations,” the Secretary-General, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, said when […]
VidAngel is the market-leading entertainment platform empowering users to filter language, nudity, violence, and other content from movies and TV shows. It continues to earn a surge of grassroots support as the company prepares for its preliminary injunction hearing in late October. Disney—along with Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm—has taken legal action to […]
Mary’s Way: The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God by Judy Landrieu Klein is the latest offering in the CatholicMom.com book collection. In the Introduction, Klein states that “it is among a mother’s most important labors to pray diligently for her children.” She also offers two life lessons that she has learned from motherhood: […]
On September 22, 1290 Bilbo Baggins was born. The year given for his birth, of course, is in Shire Reckoning: The Shire being that happy part of Middle-Earth inhabited by those sensible and unpretentious folk called “Hobbits.” To that salt-of-the-earth Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, there comes one day an amazing summons. The call to participate in […]
In the 11 th Chapter of Isaiah we read “The wolf will live with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the kid, He calf and the lion and fatling together, And a little child shall lead them.” The imagery is of a future time of universal peace. There is an innate longing deep […]
Dreadfuls: Catholic scandals, lying about Zika, and animal personhood It is not all that surprising that we seem to be living in an environment slowly sinking into total madness. Individual egos appear to have made facts a non sequitur in the quest to satisfy personal concepts of what is and is not right. Catholics for […]
On the same day dissenting theologians are presenting a statement at the United Nations in New York intended to change Catholic Church teaching on contraception, more than 500 Catholic intellectuals released their own statement affirming the Church’s teaching during a press conference yesterday at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The statement of […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Amos 6:1, 4-7 2nd Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-16 Responsorial: Psalm 146:7-10 Gospel: Luke 16:19-31 Responding to God’s Call and Mission for Our Lives Lying at his door was a poor man. (Luke 16:20) Some theologians believe that few will go to heaven. Other […]
Those of us who live in prosperous countries may not realize the full impact of the contraceptive ideology around the world. You know the ideology I mean: everyone old enough to give meaningful consent is entitled to unlimited sex without a live baby showing up. We tend to think governments should allow people to obtain […]
The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15th. This feast recalls the seven scriptural references to Mary’s heartache. For a woman who “kept all these things in her heart,” (Luke 2:51) that heart knew a great deal of pain. Heartache often goes hand in hand with parenting. With great love and […]
At the time that I am writing these words 200 Canadians have been euthanized under Canada’s new assisted suicide law. The medical killings begin to mount. One might think the battle to save suicidal sick and disabled people is lost. One Catholic bioethicist stated this defeatism. A May 1st 2016 article appeared in the Catholic […]
Terrorism is nothing new. It’s probably as old as the human race. In fact the cradle of civilization, now Iraq, was the home of the most infamous terrorists of antiquity, the Assyrians. Their goal was to conquer their neighbors in a way that would minimize initial resistance and subsequent rebellion. To do this, they knew […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Amos 8:4-7 2nd Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Responsorial: Psalm 113:1-2, 4-8 Gospel: Luke 16:1-13 Being Generous Stewards of God’s Gifts and Graces No servant can serve two masters. (Luke 16:13) Have you heard about the dying man who won the lottery? Concerned that […]
A recently filed lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Newark is the latest legal challenge to the religious mission of Catholic schools and their First Amendment freedom to protect that mission. While portrayed in the media as a question of discrimination, the issue is whether or not a Catholic school has the right to expect employees […]
A preface to this article: I remember as a teenager how both the Internet and my hormones were exploding. I spent many a nights using dial up modems lusting after the latest digital pin-up. Front and center in my quest was the blond bombshell named Pamela Anderson. During the 90s, she was the crown jewel of all […]
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day! It’s a time to promote suicide prevention for people everywhere — except the sick and disabled. Depending on where they live, they get help killing themselves. In Canada, we now have legal assisted suicide for Canadians “who have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability.” I meet […]
Kerygma [ku-RIG-muh]: preaching of the gospel of Christ, especially in the way of the early church. That’s me. I’m the stupid one. I might also add fumbling, unprepared, tongue-tied and more, but mostly I was stupid. Indeed I knew better, that evening years ago, seated at the town-square café with Petra, my first friend in […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 2nd Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Responsorial: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 Gospel: Luke 15:1-32 Forgiving Others as God has Forgiven Us This man welcomes sinners. (Luke 15:2) Fifteen years ago today, we saw the twin towers at the World Trade […]
Even people who have no interest in Japanese culture or anime are suddenly aware of Pokémon Go. So popular, according to Google Analytics, it has surpassed even pornography as the most accessed thing on the internet. (See the Newsweek report here). The game has been covered in the media, discredited by disgruntled homeowners, and brought […]
In 1986, 21-year-old Susan Conroy traveled to Calcutta to work with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity. She and the holy woman developed a friendship that would last until Mother Teresa’s death in 1997. In Praying with Mother Teresa, Conroy offers her own reflections along with quotes and letters from Mother Teresa, prayers from […]
Mother Teresa will be declared a Saint by Pope Francis in a special ceremony on Sunday at the Vatican. The pro-life heroine skillfully exploited her celebrity status to propel the pro-life cause internationally like no one else before her or since. The four feet tall Albanian nun was never afraid to speak truth to power, […]
