Leah Libresco was raised in an atheist household on Long Island. She gained notoriety as an atheist blogger who focused on such diverse topics as math and morality. She often wrestled with Catholic ideas: the blog, mischievously titled “Unequally Yoked,” initially started as a place where she could interrogate and consider arguments raised by her […]
Most Catholics are familiar with the three vows taken by most religious of poverty, chastity and obedience. To these three, St. Benedict (whose feast we celebrated July 11), added a fourth for the Benedictine order, the vow of stability. Our summer seminarian who had considered joining the Benedictines at one time spoke to us today […]
There in the desert [the whole Israelite community] complained to Moses and Aaron and said to them, “We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt…you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.” …in the morning there was dew all around the camp. When the dew evaporated, there […]
Unbeknownst to many, July 21, 2012 marks the 45th anniversary of an event that has severely and negatively impacted the life of every single Catholic on the planet; namely, the issuance of a decree by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) suppressing the requirements outlined in the Oath Against Modernism. Together with […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Saying Yes to God’s Call and Promptings “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” (John 6:9) Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you bring your gifts to Jesus as this young boy did, nothing much seems to happen? They just […]
First he heard the bells. Sunday afternoon, mid-1920s, Blessed Sacrament Parish, the Bronx. The altar boy rang them during Benediction and young Jerry Ryan, then age four, thought the beautiful sound was coming from the monstrance. Now a monsignor, Father Ryan has been a priest for sixty-seven years. At age seventy-five, he retired, as required […]
Click for: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. The next eight years were spent in a spiritual wasteland. The only bright spots were that I married LaRee in 1973 and we had two more children we both adored. But even those bright spots were threatened by my alcoholism. I carried the emotional and […]
The Fortnight for Freedom may be over but we must continue to stand against the Health and Human Services Mandate to force Catholics to pay for contraception and abortion. There are many reasons to oppose this. It makes a mockery of the First Amendment. It pushes on an unsuspecting public birth control pills which many […]
“For Egypt, the Christians are an indispensable force. They can contribute to opening up the country.” With these words, the Coptic Catholic Bishop of Assiut, Kyrillos William Samaan, affirmed the significance of Christians in the reshaping of Egypt. Since mid-February, Bishop Kyrillos has deputized for the seriously ill Patriarch of Alexandria (with headquarters in Cairo), […]
OK. Deep breath…. pray! Oh Father, Son, Spirit, Three-fold Family from Whom all families are founded… Help us this day to rejoice in the chaos that is our family. To enter intentionally into the endless mystery of the exhausting energy and tempestuous roller coaster ride of our children’s emotions, all raw and real; primordial mixtures […]
“Conversion requires convincing of sin, it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this, being proof of the action of the Spirit of Truth in man’s inmost being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love” — Blessed John Paul II, DeV 31; CCC 1848 “I can’t believe […]
If you’re not familiar with “liberation theology,” chances are you’ll be hearing more about it in the weeks and months ahead as Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, the newly appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), is said to be a student, friend and supporter of Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the “father” of […]
Her son was a wild one. She had tried to impart solid virtues and a lively faith—but her atheist husband quashed that with his brusque way and bad example. So when her eldest son reached his teens, he broke away—rejecting Christianity for an occult religion, and preferring an easy life of casual relationships and carefree […]
THE FACT IS … After college I landed a job as a reporter. “Meatball journalism”—four or five stories daily—was the quota. The editor, Joe D., took me under his wing. He said, “Kid, remember two things about newspapering. First, we are obliged to report the facts.” “What’s the second thing, Joe?” “Never let the facts […]
Click for: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 In the initial few months after my father’s death I was in a haze of grief. The remainder of winter and early Spring were spent dazed, going through the motions of daily life on automatic pilot. It was the Catholic priest, Father Lynch, who consoled me. My father’s Protestant Church […]
VESSELS OF GRACE In the 1970s Billy Joel wrote a hit song, “Only the Good Die Young.” The lyrics go like this (but I won’t sing them): “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints;/ the sinners are much more fun.” Sinners can be saints, and saints are sinners. A […]
That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to […]
Please read Using the Gifts God Has Given You, Part 1 and Using the Gifts God Has Given You, Part 2. I remind you to stir [fan] into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. (2 Timothy 1:6) Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. […]
I was at a holy hour the other night, totally focused and immersed in my thoughts, when from the back of the church came the sound of a wailing toddler. Just like that, I lost it. I was completely distracted by some kid who was far too young to be stuck sitting in a church. […]
Jehovah’s Witnesses want you to live forever with them in paradise on earth. To entice you into accepting their offer of a “free home Bible study”, they will show you brightly colored pictures of idyllic garden scenes, beautiful lakeside homes and children romping with lions. The Jehovah’s Witness will ask: “Wouldn’t you like to live […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Opening Ourselves to Receiving God’s Divine Graces “In him we have redemption … in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.” (Ephesians 1:7-8) Imagine you have just arrived home after a long day and you fumble to unlock the door. When you […]
Do you take God with you into all aspects of your life? Or does God stay in the “God – Box” of your life? As adults we have categorized much of our lives. We have “boxes” to keep things neat and clear. There is the “career box” how we feel about our career, our hopes […]
Click for: Part One, Part Two Dad began to slowly recover. We were ecstatic the day he was moved from the ICU to a regular ward. He had slipped out of the clutches of death. The day he was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital, it was like we had turned a corner into sunlight. In […]
Imagine this. A religious leader—his name is Jairus—has just received the worst news that any parent could hear: “Your daughter has died.” These words strike terror in his heart, are too real to deny. He turns to Jesus, who says, “Do not be afraid; just have faith” (Mk 5:36). Jesus knows what he’s all about. […]
