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Be Filled with Awe

A few years ago I went to the Christmas Eve Mass and the priest was an old retired priest who seemed to ramble or maybe I was too tired to follow him. Nevertheless, one word struck me and has stuck with me: the word was awe. Can you imagine the awe the shepherds felt? An […]

IVF: Is This Really Good for the Children?

Dec 30 11 • Rebecca Taylor • 2 comments

I have heard countless times that parents that undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) must love their children so very much to go through such an expensive and invasive process to have children. I have no doubt that parents undergoing IVF believe they are doing what is best, but looking at the realities of IVF that […]

The Power of Stories in Teaching NFP

Dec 30 11 • Valerie Pokorny • 0 comments

After being married for almost two and a half years, I’m not sure men really “get” the power of stories. Perhaps it’s that difference in our brains — you know, the women’s-brains-are-like-spaghetti, men’s-brains-are-like-waffles theory. Whatever the cause, all I know is that when my husband has something to report to me, he generally does so […]

Poem: “Sanctuary Stars”

Dec 30 11 • Hilary McRee Flanery • 0 comments

Sanctuary Stars To all my friends I cannot see I’ll pray for you On bended knee On Christmas morn At stable’s side Where Christ the King Once did abide. Amidst the stench Of creatures low Yet star above Sent down its glow. First Sanctuary light Bold thing A beacon for The hidden King. And when […]

Will “Joy to the World” Bring Joy to You?

Dec 29 11 • Stu Walker • 0 comments

“Joy to the World…” You have and will hear this phrase many times during the Christmas season. Often, people translate that into what God has done for the world. That is true. But, what about you? When the Angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce that Mary had been chosen by God to be the […]

Getting a Grip and Letting Go: <em>The Iron Lady</em>

Getting a Grip and Letting Go: The Iron Lady

Dec 29 11 • Susan Soesbe • 0 comments

When I heard that Meryl Streep would portray Margaret Thatcher in an upcoming film, I was immediately interested, assuming that The Iron Lady would examine the legacy of the Conservative heroine. I was wrong. In 1976, Margaret Thatcher, then the leader of the British Conservative Party, was dubbed by the Soviets “The Iron Lady” for […]

How To Magically Make Abortion “Safe”

Dec 29 11 • Wendy Wright • 0 comments

What’s worse than being a statistic? Not even being counted. That’s what is likely to happen to a 42-year old woman who, The Age reports, died last week after a legal abortion at a Marie Stopes International clinic in Australia. Since Australia allows abortion, this will fall into the “safe abortion” category by some researchers […]

Keeping Christmas

Dec 29 11 • Kate Daneluk • 0 comments

Do you ever feel like going out on the front porch and yelling, “Christmas didn’t end on December 26!” While the focus turns to New Year’s Eve, festivities continue for a few more days. In the meantime, the discount bins start filling with Christmas leftovers and the radio stations go back to their typical fare. […]

Poem: “On Christmas Eve”

Dec 29 11 • Michele Marie • 0 comments

On Christmas Eve On Christmas Eve, I heard from an old neighbor He called to thank me for a Christmas card I’d sent (How touched I was by his gratefulness) This Godfather to my child At 87 years old, talked about how his wife, In the nursing home, still had her wonderful smile We shared old […]

What Hath Athens To Do With Jerusalem: On Scripture and Theism

Dec 28 11 • Philip Primeau • 5 comments

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things” (Romans 11:36). “I do not endeavor, O Lord, to penetrate Your sublimity, for in no wise do I compare my understanding with that; but I long to understand in some degree Your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not […]

My Lewinsky Moment

Dec 28 11 • Piero A. Tozzi, J.D. • 1 comment

I came home the other day to hear the news from my children: the President of the United States had sent a letter to a “gay” couple in Brooklyn on the occasion of their recent “nuptials.” This forced a conversation that I would rather have postponed – my youngest child being eight years old – […]

Vocation Isn’t a Dirty Word

Dec 28 11 • Justin Combs • 1 comment

As a young adult I was pretty sure about the calling God had in my life. I met the girl that I would end up marrying and knew we would raise a family. I thought about religious life but had a longing for a family. I look at my life now with a beautiful bride, […]

Social Justice and the Holy Innocents

Dec 28 11 • Mary Kochan • 0 comments

Today on this feast of the Holy Innocents, let’s review why it is impossible to make the claim that you care about the poor or about social justice or about human rights and yet vote for anyone who supports abortion. Those claims are diametrically opposed. It is just a ludicrous as insisting that Herod cared […]

Ron Paul is Dangerous

Dec 28 11 • J. Matt Barber • 0 comments

After the most recent GOP presidential debate, reasonable people can disagree as to who came out on top. It was abundantly clear, however, who was smothered beneath the pile. As Ron Paul waxed naive from his perch in Sioux City, Iowa, on issues ranging from foreign policy to judicial activism, one could almost hear his […]

Poem: “The Nazareth Mines”

Dec 28 11 • Hilary McRee Flanery • 0 comments

The Nazareth Mines When Rome was Of the world – And Master Moon Was free – And Mistress Midnight Bedizened – In show-star Finery. A tiny sparkle Caught, Miss Mistress Midnight’s Eye – And captured Master Moon, Who paled And gasped a sigh – But Rome, still Of the world, Had doctors observe Ceiling signs […]

Seeking the Child

Dec 27 11 • Lisa Mladinich • 0 comments

At this time of year, we long to welcome the Christ child into our trembling hearts, these empty mangers aching to be filled; for it is in a child that we first see the face of God in humanity, and through His shocking act of humility that we begin to see ourselves in Him. Blessed […]

The Drawing Power of the Infant Christ

Dec 27 11 • Msgr. Richard Soseman • 1 comment

Charley had a secret. A secret he had been holding for several months. It was a secret which would bring great happiness, he thought, if people only knew. Charley’s family was suffering. Dad was out of a job. Mom was suffering from an illness, but they really couldn’t figure out what was happening to her. […]

Legal Settlement: Pro-Life Nurses Will Not Be Forced to Assist With Abortions

Dec 27 11 • Dave Andrusko • 0 comments

Twelve pro-life nurses have reached a successful agreement with their employer, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, who they claimed in a lawsuit required them to participate in abortions or lose their jobs. U.S. District Judge Jose Linares said he would “continue to monitor the situation,” according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, […]

Taking Stock of 2011: Occupy Seattle, Part 4

Dec 27 11 • Robert Struble, Jr. • 8 comments

During their brief existence, the Occupy movement has already yielded some benefits on the economic front. As Fr. Thomas Massaro of Boston College puts it: My gratitude to the Occupy movement grows directly out of my identification with Catholic social teaching…. In these years of high unemployment, blocked opportunity, crushing debt, anxieties about future economic […]

Two Visions: The Nativity vs. the Occupiers

Dec 27 11 • Dr. Paul Kengor • 5 comments

I recently strolled down Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh and was struck by two images. First, there was the stirring life-sized Nativity that each year is displayed on the property of the giant U.S. Steel building. It is an inspiring sight. As I walked along, however, my eyes were distracted by something I was not […]

God Loves Crybabies

Dec 27 11 • Julie Filby • 0 comments

You know the saying: ”I was a great parent before my kids were born.” No doubt I fell into that category, and was a loving, patient and confident mother 24-7. Then our two little doses of reality arrived: How do I comfort an inconsolable infant in the middle of the night? Manage a fussy toddler throwing a […]

The Divine Drool and the Art of Baby Worship

Dec 26 11 • Kathleen Gilbert • 0 comments

This might be heretical, but give it a chance. God hasn’t struck me dead yet. Walking out of church this morning, a couple of days before Christmas, I happened upon a typical church foyer scene. As two older adults chatted near the door, a vaguely confused little boy of about two years stood looking around […]

The World’s Worst and Best Ideas

Dec 26 11 • Patti Maguire Armstrong • 9 comments

As a writer, I find that my thoughts quickly turn into articles in my head. A recent at-rest thought was: What are the worst ideas in the world? High heels were my first thought. Heels prove that vanity lacks wisdom. Feet are for walking; high heels are anti-walking so regardless of what’s in your shoe […]

Book Review: <em>The Catholic Briefcase</em> by Randy Hain

Book Review: The Catholic Briefcase by Randy Hain

Dec 26 11 • Stacy Trasancos • 0 comments

I chose to review The Catholic Briefcase for three reasons. It is written by a convert, like I am. It is written by a man who successfully integrates his faith in every aspect of his life, like my husband does. When I once carried a briefcase as a career professional, but not yet a Catholic, it […]