Category: Learn & Live the Faith

Natural Family Planning as Self Defense
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Natural Family Planning as Self Defense

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by on Feb 29, 2016 in Catholic Bioethics, Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Evangelization, Featured, Marriage, Men, The Feminine Genius, Women
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My comment was met with a blank stare, a look of confusion. Fortunately, it only lasted a few awkward seconds. I was visiting my nurse practitioner for a nagging abdominal pain. Having concluded that I should have a CT scan (a detailed, in-depth x-ray) she had asked me if there was any chance I might […]

Book Review: <i>Divine Mercy for Moms</i>
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Book Review: Divine Mercy for Moms

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by on Feb 24, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, On Books
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In the Foreward to Divine Mercy for Moms: Sharing the Lessons of St. Faustina, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC refers to St. Faustina’s “Prayer of Transformation from Within.” In that Prayer, “St. Faustina asks to be transformed into a living reflection of God’s mercy, specifically praying that her eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, and heart be […]

God's Master Plan Of Love And Creation
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God’s Master Plan Of Love And Creation

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by on Feb 22, 2016 in Catechesis, Catholic Bioethics, Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ
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A study published in 2012 in a publication called “Prenatal Diagnosis” said that as many as 90 percent of all pregnancies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome resulted in “pregnancy termination,” i.e. abortion. Other studies indicate that about 6 percent of all abortions occur because the baby will have birth defects. A Guttmacher Institute […]

Answering the Call - A Response
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Answering the Call – A Response

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by on Feb 22, 2016 in Evangelization, Featured
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Recently I published the article “Hello, Church? Anybody Home?” I shared some of my exasperation towards Catholic churches who fail to make returning calls and emails a priority. The response, as you might guess, opened the proverbial can of worms. Comments made by readers echoed their frustration across the country through both personal experiences and […]

Pope in Mexico Tells Church Not to 'Rest on Its Laurels'
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Pope in Mexico Tells Church Not to ‘Rest on Its Laurels’

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by on Feb 19, 2016 in Featured, Those in Need
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By Julieta Appendini MEXICO CITY—During his visit to Mexico, Pope Francis has expressed his concern for people’s social problems, pain and suffering, and he has shared optimistic messages of hope and comfort. His smile graces all his language and his expressions of love permanently underscore his words. “The tears of those who suffer do not […]

Faith Without Hope
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Faith Without Hope

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by on Feb 19, 2016 in Catechesis, Featured, Live in Christ
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Ephemeral Hope I possess an intellectual spirituality that makes me shy away from an outward display of faith-filled emotions. I prefer internal intensity. I also fear how such emotions are temporary. Ephemeral feelings should not be the foundation of the spiritual life. Although, we certainly benefit from the good times, those windswept moments of conversion […]

Black History and Abortion: Genocide or Suicide?
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Black History and Abortion: Genocide or Suicide?

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by on Feb 19, 2016 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, History
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Through the years I have done more than my fair share of writing about the abortion statistics in the Black community, of Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger and her Negro Project, and of New York City’s black abortion rate that has hovered at 55-60% of all black pregnancies. It is appalling that a population demographic representing […]

Book Review: <em>The Apostasy that Wasn't</em>
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Book Review: The Apostasy that Wasn’t

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by on Feb 18, 2016 in Apologetics, Featured, History, On Books
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We are supposed to love the Catholic Church. After all, Christ is in love with her.  She is his bride. St. Paul desired to present the Church to him as a pure bride (2 Cor. 11: 2) and St. John in mystical vision saw her, glorious and radiant, adorned as a bride ready to be […]

The Common Declaration
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The Common Declaration

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by on Feb 18, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, The Shepherd's Voice
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February 12, 2016, Friday — Common Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill in Cuba The Middle East — “We call upon the international community to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion of Christians from the Middle East.”—Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, Common statement, issued today in Cuba, just a few minutes […]

Consecrate Yourself to Divine Mercy
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Consecrate Yourself to Divine Mercy

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by on Feb 17, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, On Books
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You may be familiar with the book, 33 Days to Morning Glory which prepares readers for a consecration to Jesus through Mary. In this follow-up, 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Consecration to Divine Mercy, Fr. Michael Gaitley of the Marian Fathers invites us to make a consecration to Divine […]

Coming Out Christian
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Coming Out Christian

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by on Feb 15, 2016 in Evangelization, Featured, Marriage, Men, The Homosexual Agenda
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  Some years ago I proudly came out of the “monogamy closet.” (See comments here.) Now, after over 42-plus years, my monogamy condition is unabated, in all its forms. I don’t “self identify” as a monogamist. I am a monogamist. Major mass media and Hollywood have had no effect on my ailment, and more than […]

The Ever-Present Affliction of Spiritual Depression
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The Ever-Present Affliction of Spiritual Depression

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by on Feb 11, 2016 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Evangelization, Featured
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Clinical depression borders on being an epidemic in our world. Consider that about 15 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with the illness. And the number of people diagnosed with major depressive disorder has been increasing by about 20 percent annually. Although about a third of those people won’t get much relief […]

Examining Our Consciences and Lent
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Examining Our Consciences and Lent

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by on Feb 10, 2016 in Apologetics, Catechesis, Evangelization, Featured
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Lent is our time to be with Jesus in the desert, where He, in His humanity, experienced weakness, hunger and temptation. Jesus entered fully into our humanity and was like us in all things except sin. This is the unique mystery of the Incarnation, where our God suffers as one of us. Jesus can identify […]

God Wants You to Get Help
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God Wants You to Get Help

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by on Feb 10, 2016 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Those in Need
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In a recent conversation with a friend, she confided in me she had been suffering for an extended period of time from what she suspected was depression. Her family had requested she see a professional, but she was hesitant. Reprinted with permission from CatholicSistas.com. “At what point do I turn to a doctor and feel […]

Two Ways to Maximize Prayers This Lent
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Two Ways to Maximize Prayers This Lent

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by on Feb 09, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ
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Supersize, maximize, be all you can be…because if you are going to do something, why not get the most out of it? Prayer is one of those things. We know we can do it poorly — babbling like the pagans do and not even paying attention to what we are saying. “What the world most […]

Hello, Church? Anybody Home?
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Hello, Church? Anybody Home?

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by on Feb 04, 2016 in Evangelization, Featured, Those in Need
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In the midst of decades of proclamations for a New Evangelization, I have a very easy, free suggestion that will yield a huge return. Ready for it, Church? Answer your phones, return calls, and return emails. Yep, it’s that simple. Whatever nonsense am I writing about, you might inquire. I’ve worked for the Catholic Church […]

Seeking a Relationship with God
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Seeking a Relationship with God

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by on Feb 03, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ
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When I meet with the Confirmation students in my parish one on one, I always ask them to describe their relationship with God. Some answer the question rather quickly without any assistance, while for others I sometimes guide their answer by qualifying, “Does your relationship seem really close or distant?” Some do answer distant, and […]

Three New Lenten Resources
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Three New Lenten Resources

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by on Feb 03, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, On Books
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Bringing Lent Home with Pope Francis: Prayers, Reflections, and Activities for Families by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle Ave Maria Press, 2015 Bringing Lent Home with Pope Francis is designed to “provide and encourage a daily occurrence of family prayer and communication as you move through this holy season together. By following the suggestions regarding how your […]

ISIS Erases 'Symbol of Christian Presence in Iraq'
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ISIS Erases ‘Symbol of Christian Presence in Iraq’

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by on Feb 02, 2016 in Featured, Those in Need
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By Oliver Maksan Confirmation that Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery has been completely destroyed by ISIS has caused widespread distress in Iraq. “St. Elijah’s monastery in Mosul was a symbol of the Christian presence in Iraq. The fact that it has been destroyed is terrible,” Father Dankha Issa told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church. […]

A Case for Catholic Education
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A Case for Catholic Education

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by on Feb 01, 2016 in Education, Evangelization, Featured, Government & Politics, The Economy
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The National Catholic Educational Association paints a bleak picture for Catholic education in America. There are currently only 6,568 Catholic schools remaining in the USA. During 2014 an additional 88 schools closed or consolidated, while only 27 new schools opened. About 2 million students attend Catholic schools, of which 328,000 plus are non-Catholic. This is […]

Book Review: <em>Rediscover Jesus</em>
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Book Review: Rediscover Jesus

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by on Feb 01, 2016 in Featured, Live in Christ, On Books
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As Catholics, we often think that we know Jesus. After all, most of us have been hearing the stories of his life since we were small children. They are part of who we are, and that is good. But sometimes, we can feel too familiar with the stories and we start to tune them out […]

Rejecting Abortion, Affirming Life
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Rejecting Abortion, Affirming Life

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by on Jan 28, 2016 in Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Marriage, Those in Need
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Thousands braved severe weather last week to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C., giving a vital public witness to the sanctity of life. In this column, however, I will reflect on a very personal situation with my wife’s first pregnancy six years ago, when abortion was presented to us as an option. Our […]

Eliminating Poverty or Eliminating Children?
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Eliminating Poverty or Eliminating Children?

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by on Jan 27, 2016 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Those in Need
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We are not alone in being suspicious of the United Nations when it comes to the life issues. Beginning with the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, abortion advocates have been attempting to use the language of U.N. documents, as well as the statements of certain U.N. committees themselves–think the Convention […]

A Matter Of Penance or Radical Permission
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A Matter Of Penance or Radical Permission

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by on Jan 27, 2016 in Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ
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This past Advent as I attended Sacrament of Reconciliation, the priest mercifully imposed a seemingly unchallenging penance: say one “Our Father.” The 10-year-old Mike would have loved that penance a whole lot more than what the priest typically prescribed at the time. I’ll never forget the day he prescribed young Mike an entire Rosary as […]