“Just existing became what was important,” says 87-year-old Frank Kravetz of Pittsburgh, captive of the “hell-hole” that was Nuremberg Prison Camp. “Yet even as I struggled with the day-to-day sadness and despair, I never once had any regrets that I signed up to serve.” An extended tour of Nazi camps as a wounded POW scratching […]
“The religion thing can wait. After all, I believe in God and am basically a good person. I really did intend to go to church this morning, but last night’s dancing took a lot more out of me than I thought and I had one drink too many. I’ll catch it next week. I’ll pray […]
Yesterday evening came a surprise announcement: Ireland will close its Embassy to the Holy See in a move the Irish governement says is needed to cut government costs. The Irish embassy to the Holy See, located on the Janiculum Hill near to the residence of the American Ambassador to the Holy See and near the […]
The Second Epistle of Saint Peter is the twenty-second book of the New Testament and included in the collection known as the Catholic or universal epistles. The author claims to be Simon Peter, apostle of Jesus, an eyewitness to the transfiguration, and a dear brother of the Apostle Paul. Second Peter is as immeasurable as […]
We continue our reflection on the mysteries of the rosary as a means of entering more deeply into the sacred mysteries made present in Holy Mass with an examination of The Glorious Mysteries. 1. The Resurrection of the Lord And in the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day […]
On its website the Catholic News Service identifies itself as “an editorially independent and financially self-sustaining division of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.” Why it can be a division of the USCCB, and still be editorially independent is not clear. Nevertheless, it is the voice of the national bishop’s conference in this country, […]
Is it better to be an ex-Catholic or cultural Catholic? An ex-Catholic is on the outside of the fullness of faith while a cultural Catholic is on the inside but not getting it–or rather not accepting it. An ex-Catholic has left a church he probably didn’t understand. Otherwise, he would not have walked away from […]
To what extent was Egypt’s Maspero massacre, wherein the military literally mowed down Christian Copts protesting the ongoing destruction of their churches, a product of anti-Christian sentiment? A video of Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa (or Gom’a), which began circulating weeks before the massacre, helps elucidate. While holding that Muslims may coexist with Christians […]
When discussing the Catholic priesthood, many questions need to be considered. First and foremost, we must ask ourselves where the idea of the priesthood comes from in the Scriptures. Contrary to the ideas of our Protestant brethren, the idea of the ministerial priesthood is clearly enunciated within the New Testament. Indeed, if there is no […]
According to a local Coptic leader in Egypt, “Christians are currently experiencing their worst time in recent centuries.” This statement was made by the Coptic Orthodox Bishop Stephanos of Beba and Elfashn to international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). As he described, Christians are being violently killed under the eyes […]
Contrary to Luther’s misconception (see Part 1 ), humility is in reality wise, while pride is foolish. St Alphonsus tells us that “no fool esteems himself foolish, but his folly consists in being a fool without knowing it.” Luther was so foolish that his own pride appeared to him as wisdom. Luther seemed to go […]
Many people admire Martin Luther (1483-1546) for his defiance of Church authority in the name of religious freedom. The idea is that Luther stood up to overbearing Church leaders who were no more than pagans in disguise. Luther freed us from unlawful intrusion in the area of conscience, which is supposed to be left to […]
I was privileged this afternoon [written October 26] to spend time with Sister Margherita Marchione, the so-called “fighting nun,” who has spent 50 years battling to defend the truth about the life and activity of Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, during the time of the Second World War. Sister Margherita, who […]
I do not see ghosts; I only see their inherent probability – G. K. Chesterton. This is the season of ghosts. Halloween has been co-opted as a secular holiday, poised to overtake Christmas in terms of commercial sales, and distorted in many cases into a grotesque and diabolical celebration of the macabre and ugly. While […]
“The Lord’s Resistance Army continues to terrorize the population. People are afraid.” This was the declaration of a local Catholic leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rt. Rev. Julien Andavo Mbia, Bishop of Isiro-Niangara, described the dire situation of his countrymen and -women in the north-western region of the Democratic Republic of the […]
Many Christians portray salvation as a simple affair: We are saved, they declare, by faith alone. The all-important role of faith is indeed Scriptural. It was emphasized especially by Saint Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes; to […]
A hundred and fifty years before Christ, they were the good guys. The Greeks were in charge and decided that, if they were to unify their kingdom politically, they needed to unify it religiously. So they imposed Greek ways on the Jews, including worshiping idols and eating pork. You can read about the Jew’s military […]
The call came after vespers. They had arrived. UPS confirmed delivery with a “quantum email.” Shouldn’t I go to the office and pick them up right now? No, I decided. Not tonight. Wait until morning and relish the delicious anticipation, like a kid waiting until morning to see what Santa Claus left beneath the Christmas […]
Chapter 7 Mary’s Sinless State When Adam and Eve disobeyed, condemning their descendants to sin and death, God revealed His plan to redeem mankind through the mystery of the Incarnation. In His divine wisdom God decided to be born of a woman. This extraordinary woman He had selected before all time to be His Mother […]
[U]ntil we account for the knowledge which an infant has of his mother . . ., what reason have we to take exception at the doctrine, as strange and difficult, that in the dictate of conscience, without previous experiences or analogical reasoning, he is able gradually to perceive the voice, or the echoes of the […]
Many, many years ago, people who wanted to live more fully for God — to know Him more intimately in their daily lives and see themselves in His more truthful light — would often seek guidance from an Ascetic who was, more than likely, living in the desert. I find Asceticism fascinating. It was almost as […]
Pope Benedict’s talk in Assisi today, on the 25th anniversary of the Day of Prayer for Peace summoned in the same place in 1986 by Pope John Paul II, was paradoxical and in some ways astonishing. The paradox: Benedict was speaking to a group of religious leaders, men and women representing nearly all the major […]
Anti-Semitism must be exposed by the light of truth so it can be soundly defeated – the operative phrase here being the light of truth, and by this I mean whole and entire; with neither attenuation nor ambiguity. On this, surely all can agree. In practice, however, this appears to be a real challenge for […]
A few years back, a Princeville, Illinois family I know hosted an Italian teen for the summer. This young man enjoyed many parts of his summer, but was mystified by the weather. In the rural Midwest, during the summer, a storm can pass every few days or so, so that at least three or four […]
