Category: Featured

The Unborn Down Syndrome Refugee Crisis
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The Unborn Down Syndrome Refugee Crisis

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by on Nov 24, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Those in Need
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The daily headlines are filled with stories about the refugee crisis spreading across the globe. Tensions are high as governments assess the security risk of admitting groups of these displaced citizens, and the vetting and screening processes for refugees is under intense scrutiny. A refugee is defined as “a person who flees for refuge or […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Doors of Mercy

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by on Nov 23, 2015 in Catechesis, Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ
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Paris dominated the news cycle last week, thanks to the coordinated terrorist attacks by ISIS. But, if it weren’t for its utility as a political bargaining chip, who a month from now would remember Paris? Soon enough something new would have displaced Paris in our minds. In our active memory, we hold fast to only […]

Cultural Imperialism and the Indian Surrogacy Ban
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Cultural Imperialism and the Indian Surrogacy Ban

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by on Nov 23, 2015 in Featured, Reproductive Technology
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I can’t help but read many of the articles related to the Indian government’s recent ban on commercial international surrogacy with a certain amount of irony. “The move has dismayed childless couples worldwide,” noted one article in The Telegraph. Others referred to “the panic” caused by the decision. Another noted that this ban would lead […]

Thousands of Syrian Christians are Fleeing ISIS Assault
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Thousands of Syrian Christians are Fleeing ISIS Assault

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by on Nov 23, 2015 in Featured, International Issues, Live in Christ
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By Oliver Maksan NEW YORK—Thousands of Syrian Christians are fleeing after fierce attacks by ISIS on the town of Sadad and its surroundings, reported Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Selwanos Boutros Alnemeh of Homs. Sadad is some 35 miles south of Homs and 65 miles north east of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The region has been […]

Theology of the Body Revolutionized My Marriage
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Theology of the Body Revolutionized My Marriage

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by on Nov 23, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Marriage, Women
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I can’t fully explain it, because it wasn’t what my parents tried to teach me. But this is what I learned as a child: sex is dirty. I knew, in my head, that this wasn’t true, and that sex, in its proper context, was a blessed, holy thing. But even for good Catholic girls who […]

When Is Abortion Not a Sin Against the Creator?
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When Is Abortion Not a Sin Against the Creator?

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by on Nov 23, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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A recent story in the Washington Post left me agog! I mean really folks, how intentionally pointed and disjointed can a report that is really not a report be? Curious? The Post states that “nearly 2 percent of Texas women say they tried to induce abortion.” The headline is generated by a report entitled “Knowledge, […]

Christ the King: From a Crown of Thorns to a Crown of Life
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Christ the King: From a Crown of Thorns to a Crown of Life

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by on Nov 22, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Live in Christ
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As we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King this weekend, it’s worth asking ourselves what kind of kingdom Christ promised us. We know his kingdom is not of this world, and his crown is made of thorns. Will our sacrifices and suffering be worth it? What awaits us after death? The Book of Revelations […]

Reflections for Sunday, November 22, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, November 22, 2015

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by on Nov 19, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading Daniel 7:13-14 2nd Reading: Revelation 1:5-8 Responsorial: Psalm 93:1-2, 5 Gospel: John 18:33-37 Allowing Jesus Christ, Our King, To Feed Us with His Grace and Power Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of […]

Bl. John Henry Newman, 1880
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Blessed John Henry Newman and the Conscience

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by on Nov 17, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured
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Moral relativism bothers me for numerous reasons, but the greatest annoyance I have is relativism’s consistent use of illogical reasoning and justification. Besides selfishness, relativism’s only consistent attribute is being illogical. I find this frustrating because several friends buy into relativism lock, stock, and barrel without a second thought. By illogical I should say I […]

“Much Ado About Nothing?” Ben Carson on Starving Terri Schiavo.
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“Much Ado About Nothing?” Ben Carson on Starving Terri Schiavo.

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by on Nov 17, 2015 in Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, Featured, Government & Politics
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Presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, was recently quoted in the Washington Post  regarding the starvation death undergone by the severely brain injured (and NOT brain dead) Teri Schiavo, “We face those kinds of issues all the time and while I don’t believe in euthanasia, you have to recognize that people that are in that condition do have a […]

How to Discern Whether Adoption is Right for You
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How to Discern Whether Adoption is Right for You

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by on Nov 17, 2015 in Featured, On Books, Parenting
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In honor of National Adoption Month, here’s my review of Jaymie Stuart Wolfe’s excellent discernment guide, Adoption: Room for One More?, from Pauline Books & Media. A few years ago, between babies #3 and #4 (or #4 and #5), my husband and I contemplated adopting a baby girl from China. We were moved by stories […]

Paris, Brussels, and 21st Century Europe
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Paris, Brussels, and 21st Century Europe

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by on Nov 16, 2015 in Columnists, Featured, Government & Politics, International Issues, The Social Order
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21st-century Europe will be extremely chaotic.

A Rarity in a Cuban Suburb: a New Church Will Be Built
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A Rarity in a Cuban Suburb: a New Church Will Be Built

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by on Nov 13, 2015 in Featured, Those in Need
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By Oliver Maksan HAVANA, Cuba—The skyline of the suburb of Guiteras, on the outskirts of the Cuban capital, is dominated by grey prefabricated buildings that are crumbling badly, weakened by the moist tropical temperatures. Some 32000 people live in this place that looks like so many others on the island nation. But Guiteras is very […]

Expanding Acronyms Threaten Maternal and Child Health
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Expanding Acronyms Threaten Maternal and Child Health

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by on Nov 13, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Health & Fitness
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In recent decades, the relatively simple and appealing concept of maternal and child health (MCH) has ballooned into a far broader and more convoluted agenda: sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, with an unwieldy acronym to match: SRMNCAH. The addition of new letters and target areas have brought a wide range of new […]

Hasten the End
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Hasten the End

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by on Nov 13, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B Whenever I lead a trip to the Holy Land, the question inevitably comes, “Will we visit Armageddon?’  This refers, of course, to the battlefield surrounding the ancient city of Megiddo where some think the final confrontation will take place before the end of the world (Rev 16:16).  Catholics […]

Movie Review: <em>Spotlight</em>
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Movie Review: Spotlight

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by on Nov 12, 2015 in Featured, On TV and Movies
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Spotlight is the recounting of the Spotlight team of intrepid investigative reporters at the Boston Globe who broke the Catholic Church’s clergy sex abuse story in January 2002–mainly concerning the Archdiocese of Boston. For starters, this is not a Church-bashing film, even though it easily and rightfully could have been. It’s an accurate, stark, almost […]

Reflections for Sunday, November 15, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, November 15, 2015

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by on Nov 11, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading Daniel 12:1-3 2nd Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 Responsorial: Psalm 16:5, 8-11 Gospel: Mark 13:24-32 Reflecting on Jesus’ Second Coming and Our Life in Heaven They will see “the Son of Man coming in the clouds” with great power and glory. (Mark 13:26) Most […]

Divided America Flag
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Tracking America’s Suicide

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by on Nov 11, 2015 in Featured, Government & Politics, International Issues, Law & Justice
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“We must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

Why are the Middle-Aged Dying?
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Why are the Middle-Aged Dying?

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by on Nov 11, 2015 in Education, Featured, Health & Fitness, On the Job, Those in Need
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By now there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the disturbing study from Princeton economists showing that middle-aged white Americans are the only demographic showing increasing death rates. Only the 45-54 age segment, and only in the United States. Worse yet, the rise in deaths is due to suicide and substance abuse. One of the […]

Book Review: <em>Waiting for Eli</em>
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Book Review: Waiting for Eli

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by on Nov 10, 2015 in Featured, On Books
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This book is a must read. It is the beautiful story of what could be considered a miracle birth, and as such it can help couples who may find the going very difficult when confronted with a very challenging pregnancy. Waiting for Eli chronicles this spiritual journey from fear of one’s personal limitations to self-abandonment […]

Five Ways to Imitate Christ
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Five Ways to Imitate Christ

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by on Nov 10, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ
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In St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, he exhorts his readers to be imitators of God. I venture to say that St. Paul exhorts us to imitate Christ, who is God. After all, Paul had the encounter with the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus, which changed his life forever. How do we begin […]

Physician Assisted Suicide Undermines Efforts to Reduce Suicide
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Physician Assisted Suicide Undermines Efforts to Reduce Suicide

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by on Nov 10, 2015 in Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, Featured, Those in Need
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Last week’s New York Times featured a haunting portrayal of suicide in America. Across the nation, suicide rates are on the rise—particularly among rural adolescents. But, as the article highlights, “suicide is a threat not just to the young. Rates over all rose 7 percent in metropolitan counties from 2004 to 2013, according to the […]

Book Review: <em>Intimate Graces</em>
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Book Review: Intimate Graces

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by on Nov 10, 2015 in Featured, Marriage, On Books
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The Jubilee Year of Mercy is right around the corner. Why not take advantage of that year to work on your marriage? In Intimate Graces (Ave Maria Press, 2015), Catholic media maven Teresa Tomeo (Pastore) and her husband Deacon Dominick Pastore examine how practicing the works of mercy can bring out the best in marriage. […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Forgiveness in the Family

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by on Nov 09, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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Pope Francis opened his Nov. 4th Wednesday General Address by spotlighting real families who witness daily to the great gift of marriage and family. Essential Christian families revitalize modern life by living out the humanizing values of the Gospel. When Christian families practice forgiveness in their homes, their actions have a ripple effect, reconstituting the […]