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Pope Francis, Other Christian Leaders Condemn Western Intervention in Syria

Pope Francis, as well as other Christian leaders in the Middle East and around Europe are sounding the alarm of a possible global conflict should the US and other western powers launch an attack on Syria. In an interview with Vatican Radio yesterday, the Syrian Chaldean Catholic bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo, said that armed […]

Prayer, Preaching and the Pain to Come

When was the last time any of us stood on a street corner or walked into a room filled with people and passionately proclaimed: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2)?  The truth is that most of us never have or ever will.  But these words, preached by St. John the […]

The Catholic Factor in Schooling

Suppose your son is a sixth grader and his male teacher just married another man.  If it happens at a Catholic school, the teacher would be fired as has happened at schools in Ohio and California. If it is at a public school, it is likely a non-issue to administrators. In the latter case, you […]

Judge Allows Lawsuit Against Pastor for Opposing Homosexuality

A U.S. judge is allowing a lawsuit by a Ugandan homosexual group charging an Evangelical pastor with a “crime against humanity.” The American pastor is accused of violating international law for speaking against homosexuality and discussing legislation with Ugandan leaders. Scott Lively, an attorney and author, runs the Holy Grounds coffee house in Massachusetts where […]

Three Traps Set by Satan Against Goodness

Time for some depressing thoughts on demons and demonology! Demonology is one of my favorite topics in theology (I know. Freaky). I’m not obsessed with it, I simply treat it as a piece of spiritual and practical knowledge, because hey, the Devil exists! Saint John Climacus, also known John Scholasticus, John Sinaites, and John of […]

Why Obamacare Is Good for Me

I hate to say it, but ObamaCare has been good for me. Now, I know our economy is still struggling — Gallup says the unemployment rate just jumped to nearly 9 percent — and I know ObamaCare uncertainty is making many employers wary of hiring. But I also know that new opportunities exist for people […]

King vs. Alinsky

Tabb’s Poetry XXXII

Five poems by John B. Tabb.

How Moms Can Get Help

I never met a mom who thought she had enough help. So here’s a few ideas to make your days a little easier. Some ideas come from me, and some from other moms, but they’re all offered from someone who’s been there, done that, and wants to pass on what she’s learned. 1. Ask for […]

Emasculating the Faith of Our Fighters

“There are no atheists in foxholes.” When Barack Obama ran for President, he promised to “fundamentally change” America. Over the last five years or so, the American people have gotten a pretty good idea of exactly what those words meant. We’ve seen that President Obama’s vision of America is one in which we are entirely […]

Martyrdom in America

Cardinal John O’Connor was known for many things during his tenure as Archbishop of New York City (1984-2000). I think of him often, but most recently I was reminded of O’Connor’s courage when I remember how he handled being confronted by a group of homosexuals while celebrating Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The cardinal conducted himself with absolute respect […]

Poem: “Time and Eternity”

Time and Eternity III Departed to the judgment A mighty afternoon; Great clouds like ushers leaning, Creation looking on. The flesh surrendered, cancelled, The bodiless begun; Two worlds, like audiences, disperse And leave the soul alone. Emily Dickinson

Olympic Bronze Medalist Transformed Through Crucible of Suffering

If things had gone according to his original plan, Mario Ancic would have played tennis at the Olympic Games in London last year. However, his life took a different course than he expected. The 6-foot-5-inch Croatian was riding high at the end of 2006. He was already an Olympic bronze medalist, a Wimbledon semifinalist and […]

Wrapping ‘Summer Love’ into a New School Year

I’ll admit it’s work, but I love it. I love camping…. the dust clouds and the cicadas’ rhythmic swell and the  sun leaking into  the thin tent nylon in the early morning, insistent. Our rusty old  camp grill and the Coleman  torch that scatters just a bit of an ethereal Hey-summer-we-survived-this-year’s-algebra-and-ancient-history-and-disappointments-and-triumphs-and-we’re-back-to-settle-in-your-scheduleless -rustic-August glow. The whispers […]

Gestational Serfs

Good science fiction tells a morality tale about the dangerous directions in which contemporary society is heading. For example, Brave New World—perhaps the most prescient novel ever written—warned against the dystopian impact that using biotechnology to perfect the human race would have on society. Similarly, the Dune novels—which feature a breeding device known as an […]

A Theology of Women? What Does Pope Francis Mean?

During his now-famous impromptu interview while returning to Rome from World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis declared the ordination of women a question settled definitively by Blessed Pope John Paul II, but suggested that women’s gifts might be used in other ways. His suggestion that a deeper “theology of women” might have […]

The Greatness of St. Pius X

The only way to describe something is “great.” Babe Ruth was great at baseball and anything less than great simply wouldn’t do it justice. Likewise, if you describe the pontificate of Guiseppe Sarto as anything below “great”, you should probably have your head examined. By any possible metric, his pontificate was a success, and there is a reason he was the first Pope to be canonized a saint since the 16th century.

How Can I Forgive When I Can’t Forget?

While many people believe forgetting an injury is part of forgiveness, Fr. Justin Waltz, pastor of St. Leo’s Church in Minot, ND, suggested just the opposite. In fact, he stated that forgetting is not even possible. “The only type of forgetting I have heard of is stuffing,” he said during a retreat presentation and added, “The […]

Liberty Amendments, by Mark Levin: A Five Part Series of Commentaries, Part One

Readers of “Farewell to Apostate America,” my four part series advocating for an Article V Convention (among other avenues to restoration of the written Constitution) can imagine my interest in seeing Mark Levin’s just released book, The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic (Threshold Editions, Simon & Schuster, 2013).  Currently it is number one on the […]

Poem: “The Red Winged Blackbird”

The Red Winged Blackbird It’s said that once, long, long ago, When Christ had come to die, The Blackbird saw Him on the cross And wouldn’t pass Him by. He landed there, beside Our Lord To see what he could do To free the deadly crown of thorns That pierced Our Savior through. He worked […]

What Five Star Christian Hospitality is About

Everything I ever needed to know about hospitality, I learned from my children. When their grandparents, friends or birthday party guests are scheduled to come, my children are beside themselves with excitement.  The front door is opened about as much times as I hear the question “When will they get here?” The neighborhood playmates, who […]

Talking Catholic Fiction with Marcus Grodi

How many books have you read in the past year or so? (This doesn’t count the ones that you started but did not finish and now languish on a shelf gathering dust.) I’m talking about books that you have read cover to cover. That may reduce the number by as much as half if you […]

Poem: “My God is with Me”

My God is with Me The Lord my God is with me, But I do not feel His breath. His closeness does not warm me. But I know, I believe He is near. I trust He has not fled me, In spite of my ways, My sinfulness does not impede Him. For “Forgiveness” is His […]

Pope’s Vision for Restructuring the Church

Pope Francis is contemplating a major reworking of the top-level administrative machinery of the Church. Commentators sometimes describe this as “reforming the Roman Curia,” but if the Pope’s own words–together with public and private proposals intended to influence the result–are any indication, the project could extend far beyond reshuffling dicasteries and straightening out the affairs […]