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Poem: “The Sculptor’s Chisel”

The Sculptor’s Chisel His living bread His body The Sculptor’s chisel In clay kneaded like a potter’s mound He moulds an image of Himself His wine His blood Love’s river Love’s river carves the canyon’s face And steers the searching yearning heart Michele Marie

Welcoming the Stranger

“Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels (Hebrews 13:2).” Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this is Abraham rushing out to welcome three men standing near his tent (Genesis 18:1-15). He begged them to come, wash their feet, rest, and eat before continuing on their journey. In return, the […]

Obama’s Inalienables

Each time President Obama addresses America’s inalienable rights, I get emails. “Did you see Obama left out ‘Creator’ again?” began the latest. The most recent occasion was a June 17 presidential statement responding to a U.N. resolution on sexual orientation. Obama stated that “LGBT persons are endowed with the same inalienable rights—and entitled to the […]

The Pope’s Angelus Message Today: Announcement of the Kingdom

 Sometimes words comfort, and heal. Not a drug to control anxiety, not any type of mind-numbing alcohol, but words. Words which speak “heart to heart” (to use the motto of Blessed John Henry Newman) — one might almost say “logos to logos.” Speaking words “heart to heart” transmits life. Words bear meaning, are meaning. They […]

10 Things You Need to Know About Slavery in Islam

1. Muslim slave trade in Africa has lasted 14 centuries and continues to this day in places like Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. 2. Over 17 million slaves (mostly black women and children) were transported out of Africa by Islamic traders. Another 85 million are believed to have died en route. 3. The Prophet Muhammad practiced and approved of […]

Poem: “In the Synagogue of Night”

In the Synagogue of Night Light of gold and then of silver A shawl on the shoulders of the world That bows to the sun In the synagogue of night                     Pavel                     June 29, 2011 “In  the Synagogue of Npavelight,” a reading: http://www.pavelreads.com/

Resolving Conflict

The Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Well, here we are in beautiful “Mini-sooota,” with its 10,000 lakes, beautiful vegetation, and thousands of parks and recreation facilities headed into one of our wonderful national holidays that celebrates our nation’s “birthday,” July 4th. We celebrate the signing […]

Happy Pro-life Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite days. Living across the street from a public high school field from which the town fireworks display was launched each year made it extra special, as did the presence of many relatives and friends who would come to our house to celebrate the day (as well […]

Historic Polish Bill to Ban All Abortion Clears First Vote 254-151

A massive grassroots campaign in Poland to implement a total ban on abortion witnessed an important victory Friday as the lower house of the Polish parliament fought off a first round of voting intended to scrap the historic bill. Sejm lawmakers voted 254-151 against a motion by the pro-abortion communist Democratic Left Alliance to reject […]

Mid East Misogyny and the Plight of Muslim Women

“[S]ome things must be said, and there are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice” Ayan Hirsi. In her best-selling autobiography, Infidel, Somali-born writer, politician, and activist Ayan Hirsi catalogs a lifetime of grievances against the Muslim culture and religion.  Throughout the book, Hirsi laments the West’s reticence to deal honestly with the egregious […]

Chesterton’s Stars & Stripes

Among those doing excellent work on G. K. Chesterton is Joseph Pearce, the brilliant Brit who is a scholar at Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida. Pearce, like Dale Ahlquist, is unearthing all sorts of gems from Chesterton’s writings. Pearce recently came to Grove City College in Western Pennsylvania, where he offered an intriguing European […]

Comic: Fairy Nightmare

Drawing the Sacred Heart

Despite what other people think, Tracy Christianson insists that she is not a painter.  It’s not that she refuses to acknowledge her God-given talent, but that her portraits are pencil drawings, not paintings. “People are usually surprised to find out that my portraits are drawn with [Prismacolor brand] colored pencils,” says the Seattle artist. “Most […]

Rays of Light: Pope Benedict XVI Awards “Ratzinger Prize”

The Pope gave a talk today that was a profound critique of the modern scientific method.  I was in the Vatican press office at noon today when Pope Benedict in the Clementine Hall inside the Apostolic Palace conferred “Ratzinger Prizes” on three European theologians for the excellence of their theological work. I was able to […]

Sixth Circuit’s Obamacare Decision on the Way to the Supreme Court

Yesterday, in a split 2-1 decision, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare in the case of Thomas More Law Center v. Barack Hussein Obama, the first case to challenge the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The Thomas More Law Center will ask the U.S. Supreme […]

“Gay Marriage”: New York’s Latest Love Canal

Acrimonious and bitter is the fight in America about giving legal approval to gay and lesbian sexual activity.  Polarization about putting same-sex unions on a par with traditional marriage pits members of New York City’s elite against one another.  Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan said he was “very disappointed, very saddened and very worried” by the […]

Casey Anthony and The Human Tragedy of our Time

Whenever there is another story on the news involving a woman who has killed her child, I do everything I can not to listen or I change the channel. If I do learn any details (which seems to happen inevitably since every few months there is another incident and the media loves to give us […]

What the Pope Fears

Walking in Rome in recent days, I noticed on a newstand the cover of the Italian magazine Focus. It has a picture of a human face in two parts, half-normal and half-transformed into a futuristic being. The title says “Uomo 2.0” (Man Version 2.0) and the subtitle reads: “Siamo un’altra specie” (“We are a new […]

Europe’s Not-So-Revolutionary Youth

As the European Union’s financial crisis continues to unfold across the old continent, many young Europeans are belatedly realizing their economic future looks rather bleak. Unfortunately, the tens of thousands of young Europeans who have taken to the streets of cities such as Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, and Paris in recent months to express their […]

Where There is Life There is Hope

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage to continue that counts” — Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill purchased that insight with dear experience.  I didn’t realize what a rollercoaster of Himalaya-highs and Death-Valley-lows his life was until I listened to The Teaching Company lecture series Churchill by J. Rufus Fears.  The […]

Poem: “Secret Prison”

Secret Prison They’ll try to change the planet Into a secret prison Where God can never find us But prisoners may summon The prisoners can sing In that secret prison Though it be the cell Of the ruins of oblation No crypt of death can hold God’s beloved Son, Nor keep Him in the cell […]

Agenda Behind Botched Pledge Still a Mystery

Earlier this month, NBC reminded us of the power of good television. In the opening segment launching its coverage of the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, NBC aired a stunning montage of images meant to conjure a sense of pride and patriotism for America, a nod to the tournament’s location at Congressional […]

The Spiritual Battle between Light and Darkness

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it […]

Council of Europe and UN Start Addressing Sex-selective Abortions

It took time for Europe to start addressing one of the saddest aspects of abortion: abortion for sexual selection. Finally, as a result of a motion for a resolution introduced May 11, 2010 by Mr Volontè and 21 other parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided to issue a report addressing […]